


Unmade and Remade

by Eleke



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Agoraphobia, Alternate Universe, Evolving Tags, Extremely Dubious Consent, Good people doing terrible things, Hurt Lance (Voltron), Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Implied/Referenced Dubious Consent, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, Jealous Keith (Voltron), Keith (Voltron) is Bad at Feelings, Langst, M/M, Master/Pet, Mating Cycles/In Heat, Non-Consensual Drug Use, Pike!Lance, Pining Keith (Voltron), They get better though, Voyeurism, a lot worse, things get worse before they get better, ×Alternate Universe - Slavery
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-07-28
Updated: 2019-06-13
Packaged: 2019-06-17 12:46:54
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 41,406
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15461694
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Eleke/pseuds/Eleke
Summary: AU in which people either choose or are forced into becoming Pets; physically altered and are treated as property to their Owners.Takashi Shirogane is an officer of the Garrison who owns one Pet and is seeking out another. What he discovers is a program that is just a face for something a lot more dark and predatory than he ever imagined. With the help of others, he seeks to bring the horrific practices to light, but it's going to be a lot more difficult than he could have thought, especially when he finds himself on the frontlines.





	1. Chapter 1

My first Voltron fanfic and it’s utter id-fic, but I hope it’s enjoyable anyway. It’s un-betaed, so please let me know about any horrific spelling or grammar mistakes, which I’m sure there’s plenty of. 

One major note before going in this; there are good people who do allow terrible things in this fic due to the influences of their culture around them. While they WILL eventually learn better and try to atone, it will take shaking up their world view in order to do so. This is not a bashing fic – I don’t do that. 

A question before I finally move on to the fic; do people prefer evolving tags as the story progresses and allow the more ‘spoilery’ tags to show up later, or for the sake of your own comfort and safety would rather all the planned tags be upfront? I can do either way, but I really don’t want to trigger or harm people if I can avoid it. Relatedly, if you see something in the fic that you really feel should be tagged please let me know. 

\------------- 

“I’m worried about Keith,” Shiro said, taking a sip of his coffee. 

“Has he been giving you any issues?” Allura asked, concern written on her face as she set her own cup of fragrant tea down. “He hasn’t been any trouble before, has he?” 

They were having an early lunch together at a local café. They were seated outside, as the weather cycle that day was set for just windy enough to feel good on the skin. Plus, there was the added benefit of plenty space for Allura’s own Pet to stretch out on the floor beside them. 

“No,” Shiro said. “He hasn’t been giving me any trouble, exactly. It’s just,” he lets out a breath and looks out at the people passing by. Many of them were by themselves or in small groups, though he could occasionally see someone with a Pet or even two walk by. He smiled as he saw two young Pets, maybe a couple years younger than his Keith, began to squabble over a treat until their owner, laughing, separated them. 

“Shiro?” Allura prompted, and Shiro blushed when he realized that he’d trailed off mid-thought. 

“Sorry,” he said, and continued. “I’m just worried that Keith might be getting kind of… lonely,” he finished. 

Allura tilted her head, leaning forward in her, ‘I don’t understand, but I’m willing to hear you out,’ pose Shiro had gotten familiar with over their couple years they’d been working together. “Lonely?” she asked. “From what I’ve seen of Keith and everything you’ve told me about him, he seems very independent. What makes you think he’s getting lonely?” 

Shiro shrugged, wrapping his hands around his mug. “He is pretty independent,” he allowed. “That’s one of the reasons I adopted him. But the Garrison is starting to send me out on longer and longer missions. I don’t want to hire a sitter who’s just going to make sure he’s eating properly. I want someone he can talk to, someone to entertain him while I’m gone. Someone who can be there for him that isn’t his Owner.” 

“You want him to have a friend,” Allura said softly. 

Shiro nodded. “I want him to have a friend.” 

She leaned back in her chair, hand drifting down to ruffle gently through her own Pet’s hair. At her feet, Coran let out a satisfied sigh and leaned harder against her hip. “Have you thought of what you’ll get?” she asked. “Age, sex, species? An older Pet might be a good option, and they tend not to get adopted as fast as the younger, prettier ones.”

Shiro shook his head. “I’m not too fussy about the particulars,” he said. “But I’m pretty sure I want to get someone more Keith’s age. I would like him to have someone he can see as a companion, whereas an older one would probably feel more like a minder, and he’d feel responsible for a younger one.”

“Fair enough,” Allura said, giving Coran one last scritch behind a floppy ear that poked out of his thick red hair. “And you’ll be letting Keith know soon, I’m sure?” 

Shiro shrugged, then shook his head, unsure. “I think I might surprise him,” he said. “Otherwise he’ll brood about it and convince himself he doesn’t need a companion.” 

At that Allura sat up quickly in alarm, causing Coran to perk up and look up at his owner in concerned curiosity. “Shiro,” she said, words quickly pouring out of her. “I really don’t think that’s a very good idea, I _implore_ you to talk it over with Keith first, or at least let him know what you’re planning on doing. Pets like him don’t take to change very well, and you might find yourself with more trouble than you think on your hands.” 

“Allura,” Shiro said, one hand raised. “I’m not worried about Keith’s reaction. I’m sure he’ll stomp around and sulk for a while, but he’ll come around. I’m positive if given the chance, he’ll enjoy having a new friend around.” 

Allura sank back, but her worried expression didn’t abate. Instead, she pressed her lips together and sighed. “If you’re sure…” she trailed off, petting behind Coran’s ears until he calmed back down, his tail thumping gently against the ground. 

Shiro nodded. “I’m sure,” he soothed. “I’ve had Keith for years now and I trust him. And honestly, what’s the worst that could happen?” 

“You’d be surprised,” Allura said dryly. “When do you plan on getting your new Pet?” 

Shiro smiled bashfully at her. “Actually, I was thinking later today? I’ve already ordered some new training materials and equipment to be sent over to my quarters later today. I just have to pick a new Pet out, and I’m good to go.” 

Allura laughed. “So, this was more asking forgiveness than permission, then? Well, you need neither from me, I only ask one thing.” 

“What’s that?” Shiro said, smiling at her good humor. 

“Allow me to come with you,” she said. “I know you and your tastes, and I know you’d pick out the first hard-luck case without even looking twice at any others.” 

“I think I lucked out pretty well with Keith,” he argued, feigning hurt. 

“Who was the first hard-luck case you laid eyes on, correct?” 

Shiro sighed. “Okay, you have me there. Well then,” he said, draining the last of his coffee. “We should probably head out, if you’re ready.” 

“So impatient,” she teased, taking one last sip of her own tea. When Shiro reached for his credit chip, she waved him away. “Don’t bother, this is on me,” she said, tapping it to the reader set at their table. “You’ve got a new Pet to get.” 

“Thanks,” he said, standing. 

“Not a problem,” she responded, rising to her feet, Coran right behind her going from sleepy to alert in a tick. She tapped what appeared to be a fashionable bracelet, and a light appeared on Coran’s collar to show it was primed. “Now then,” she said, looking up and smiling at Shiro. “Shall we go?” 

“After you,” he said, bowing slightly and sweeping out his arm in a grand gesture that Allura just rolled her eyes at.

“Goof,” she said in fond exasperation. “Now, let’s find your hard-luck case.” 

\-----------------

Lance took a deep, steadying breath as he looked up at the non-sky of the Altea Space Station. There was just enough haze in the false atmosphere that for the most part the sky looked a faint blue-gray, but looking straight up he could almost make out the crammed-together buildings on the other side of the station.

Somewhere on the other side of the haze was his family. 

_’Remember what you’re here for,’_ he told himself. _’You’ve gotten this far, no backing out now._

He looked around one last time, amazed at all the _space_ there was. On the other side of the station space was at a premium – no room to expand, so as more and more people moved to or were born on the space station, the more cramped the living quarters were forced to be. 

Except on this side of the space station, there wasn’t that feeling of claustrophobia – the pressure of dozens of people sharing the same air, an almost palpable heat of too many too close. Instead, there were actual , living plants lining the walk ways, spaces set aside apparently just to sit and talk with other people. Decorations that served no purpose except, apparently, just to take up space and look pretty. 

Plots of what had to have been grass.

And every now and then, he’d see a Pet. 

As far as Lance knew, nobody owned any Pets on the other side of the station, or at least in his section. They were far too rare, and far too expensive. But on the other side of the disk-shaped station, it seemed like Pets were common enough that barely anyone looked twice. 

At first, Lance didn’t even notice them, but then he saw the first Pet who was forced to walk on all fours, and he couldn’t help but stop and pay more attention to the people around him. Many of the Pets he’d seen looked mostly like a regular person following another, but then he’d notice the pointed ears or tails, sometimes claws. Every now and then one would pass with a muzzle, or digitigrade legs. Once, while on the train he’d taken to get to the other side, another passenger had gotten on the train with a Pet that looked like a bipedal wolf. That kind was apparently rare enough that even other Pet owners remarked on it. The wolf’s owner certainly seemed to love to talk about their Pet, and went at length on how many credits they had to trade in for the extensive modifications. How ‘unfortunate’ it was their Pet couldn’t even talk anymore, but oh, how docile and calm it was, when at first it was ‘half wild,’ and ‘mischievous.’ 

Lance remembered looking the wolf in its (his? Her? He couldn’t even tell anymore) eyes and recoiling at how there was no more light on the other side. 

He felt sorry for the Pet, more than he ever felt about any Pet he’d met previously. But mostly, to his shame, he felt fear. 

Would that be his fate? 

But he had to do it. His family needed him to. 

Of course, nobody asked him to. But he knew that his family wasn’t earning enough credits to get by any longer, and as their savings started to diminish, the Galran Institute flyers started showing up. The walls in their quarters were thin, and while he didn’t think his younger siblings heard, he was kept up at night by his parents talking. It was the day he was about to swipe his parent’s pillows for a fort he was making with his siblings that he spotted the Institute flyer on his mom’s night table that he knew he had to act. 

He’d just turned 18, and his options were go for higher education while working part-time, getting a full-time job, joining the Garrison, or turning himself over to the Institute. Going to University would open up more avenues for him, but he’d still be living with his family while he studied, and working part-time wouldn’t help very much. Getting a job would help, but unemployment was only getting higher, and there were much more qualified people out there than some kid fresh out of high school. The Garrison would work for him – he’d be working directly for Altea Station itself, so he would be provided with food, clothing, and shelter without having to get a separate job to work off the supplies spent on him. But unless he made officer, he wouldn’t actually be earning any credits. He’d be one less mouth for his parents to feed, but that would be it. 

Lastly, there was the Institute. 

Pets were very popular, very expensive, and giving your life to the Institute was a very quick way to earn a very large amount of credits, deposited to the account of your choice.

Lance could remember a family living by him – how it was just the three of them, but then two of them, a parent and a son, apparently went to the Institute, and the surviving parent was able to afford to move to a better section – one where you could get to the streets without having to climb down on top of other people’s quarters, where the trash was picked up every quintent, rather than every three. 

But mostly, he just didn’t want either of his parents to be turned into a Pet, to be forced to walk on all fours or be twisted and malformed. 

He took another deep breath and looked around, wanting to take in the station he called home one last time as a free man, and stepped into the Institute. 

It was spacious and cold – an ostentation display of wealth in a place where space was at a premium. At one end there was a wide U-shaped desk where two women and a man sat, one talking to someone standing outside the desk, one on the phone, and the last, a woman, was tapping aimlessly at a monitor. 

Lance approached her, fists clenched to keep the tremors at bay. The woman looked up when he approached and gave him a bland, polite smile. “Hello,” she said. “How can I assist you today?” 

“Um, hi,” Lance said, and winced at the creak in his voice. He cleared it, and tried to say with a bravado he didn’t feel, “I’m here to apply for the Pet program?” 

The woman’s smile got wider and she nodded. “Of course. Here,” she pulled out a tablet from a stack sitting in a charging port and tapped something before handing it over. “We just need you to fill out this questionnaire, and when you’re done just hit ‘finish’ and someone will be with you shortly. Remember that you can leave at any time, just please return the tablet to the front desk.” 

“Oh, sure,” he said, taking the tablet from her. Just answer a questionnaire? That was all it took to become someone’s property? He was sure there had to be more than that. On the way to a sitting area there was a bowl of fresh fruit and a pitcher of water with real lemon slices floating in it, with a sign encouraging him to help himself. He did, shoving food and water in his face with the tablet tucked safely under his arm. 

It was another display of wealth, he guessed, licking peach juice from his fingers on his way to a seat. Fresh fruit was incredibly expensive – his family usually just relied on the ration blocks spat out by the standard synthesizer in every household. They weren’t too bad, as long as you had something to drink them with. But his family usually only had actual fresh food on special holidays, and maybe a bunch of grapes for their birthday. 

He didn’t feel too guilty taking the food – in just a few minutes he’d technically be property of the Institute, and he hadn’t had anything to eat during the long trip over, besides.

He got himself comfortable on a chair and opened the tablet. The first set of questions were very simple and explanatory – name, birthdate (18 years ago to the day), family medical history, known allergens, that sort of thing. Then it started sounding like a basic job application – education, special training or interests, any sports he’d played. 

From there, it started getting weird. It asked why he chose to self-admit, where he wanted the associated payment to go, if he was doing this whole thing on his own volition or if he was being forced into it. At one point he was asked if he had any animal preferences and he scrolled through a list of suggestions a mile long, containing animals he’d never even heard of (what’s a jerboa? Or a duiker? Or a _kodkod_??). He eventually gave up and selected ‘no preference.’ He was going to be someone’s Pet, what he wanted to look like didn’t even matter.

He had to stop when he reached a particular set of questions, his stomach forming a knot and threatening to eject the peach he’d just gorged himself on. 

_It may be expected for you to perform sexually with your caretaker or another Pet. Are you willing to perform sexually if asked?_

His finger hovered over the ‘NO’ button, then before he could change his mind, he hit the ‘YES’ button. 

_Do you have a preference of the sex or gender of your caretaker? If YES, then additional information will be required._

NO.

_Are you willing to be altered to be more sexually appealing to a caretaker?_

What was that supposed to mean, like giving him a bigger dick? Sure, whatever. YES. 

_Some caretakers require their Pets to be spayed/neutered after purchase. Are you willing to lose sexual function?_

Lance’s finger bounced back and forth between YES and NO. If he chose NO, would he be turned down? He got so far, and the money was so good, he couldn’t afford to be turned away now. But if he said YES, he’d be willingly let them do what? Give him a vasectomy? The phrasing they used seemed a bit more intense than a simple vasectomy though, what with ‘losing sexual function.’  
In the end, the desire to do what needed to be done to make sure he got in the program won out. 

YES.

The last question, however, made him pause out of confusion rather than anything else. 

_At times a candidate will be chosen but sent through an experimental procedure rather than progress through the Pet program. As these procedures are experimental, the loss of life is a possibility. In the case of loss of life, half of the offered amount of credits would be sent to the account indicated earlier. Are you willing to take part of an experimental procedure that exempts you from the Pet program that could result in the loss of life?_

What sort of experimental programs would they be talking about? As far as Lance knew, the Galra Institute used to make a lot of strides in the fields of healthcare and the like, but once the Pet program became more and more popular they pretty much dropped everything else. Still, Lance chose the YES option. Even half of the full amount of credits would be more than enough to help his parents.

Finally, the questionnaire was finished, and he tapped the big red FINISHED button at the end. The tablet switched to a screen reading, _’THANK YOU! Your answers are being reviewed. Please allow for several minutes and someone will be with you for processing.’_

Lance sighed and leaned back, head thudding on the back of the chair. The first part was done, and it was fairly painless. It made him wonder about some of the questions asked, especially the more sexual ones, but Lance heard the stories, he saw the vids. Owners having sex with their Pets wasn’t exactly expected, but it wasn’t the rarest thing in the world. Sure, there were laws protecting child pets (kits, or pups, or whatever you wanted to call them), but everyone sort of saw adult ones as being particularly exotic prostitutes. 

Lance knew from the second he decided to go to the Institute that he may be required to have sex with whoever chose to buy him. He told himself he was okay with it, as long as it helped his family. 

There was another word for unwanted sex, but his mind skipped around it, refused to call it what it was.

He was waiting for maybe thirty dobashes when he heard his name being called. He looked up to see a woman in a lab coat looking at him from a doorway off to the side. He jumped to his feet, fumbling with the tablet as he did. 

“Um, yeah,” he said, stepping toward her and trying not to look as nervous as he felt. “That’s me.” He immediately wanted to smack himself – there was literally nobody else in the lobby, of course it was him. 

The woman just gave him a small, tight smile, the expression looking odd on her, like she wasn’t used to smiling very often. “Please, follow me, Lance.” 

He followed her down the hallway until she entered a doorway that looked identical to every other door and gestured for him to sit at a chair before a desk, while she sat on the other side. Lance shifted in the seat immediately – it had an odd slant to it, putting Lance literally on edge. 

“The tablet, please,” she said. When Lance handed it over, she plugged it into the monitor set up at the desk, then tapped a couple buttons. 

“My name is Dr. Acxa,” she said, as she tapped selections. “I am a legal representative of the Garrison and a researcher here at Galra Institute. Based on your answers, we’ve determined you’d be a good candidate for the Pet program. We’ve only have a few more questions before we continue. Please be aware that you can leave at any time and defer your commitment to the program until a later date. Are you ready to continue?” 

The entire time she talked quickly, her words running together and combined with the weird seat was throwing Lance off. There was also a low tone in the air that was making Lance’s head hurt, though this Dr. Acxa didn’t seem to notice. “Um, yeah,” he said, shaking his head and trying to shake off the building pressure in his head. 

“Are you of sound mind and body?” She asked. 

“Yes,” Lance said, though the headache was only mounting. Did that actually count? He wasn’t sure. 

“Please sign the screen,” Dr. Acxa indicated the tablet, which she had spun to face Lance. Lance used his index finger to sign his name in the box indicated, and Dr. Acxa tapped something on her monitor. 

“Are you agreeing to participate in the Pet program under your own cognizance, and are not being forced or otherwise coerced into joining by an outside force?” 

“Yes,” Lance said. 

“Sign the screen.”

Lance signed. 

“Do you agree that neither you nor your family hold the Galra Institute responsible should anything lead to your death, physical disfigurement, or emotional or psychological harm?”

“I… think so?” Lance said. He shifted, almost falling out of his chair, and the headache was growing. He couldn’t think straight, he just felt so… weird… 

“Please sign the screen.” 

Lance signed, though it was shaky. 

“Are you volunteering to renounce your citizenship on the Altea Space Station and relinquish your legal protection thereof?”

“Yeah,” Lance sighed, reaching out to sign before he could be prompted. He didn’t catch most of what she just said, her voice fading in and out of his hearing. 

“Congratulations, Lance,” she said, with another one of those uncomfortable smiles. “You are now enrolled in the Pet program.” 

Lance just stared at her, leaning heavily on the side of his chair to keep himself from falling out or falling over, he wasn’t sure. He definitely didn’t expect to feeling so much nothing at the announcement, but he was feeling thrown off kilter. 

Dr. Acxa didn’t seem to mind or even notice, because she stood up and opened the door, gesturing for Lance to follow. He dragged himself from the chair and staggered after her, cradling his head in the palm of his hand. The second he passed the threshold, Acxa’s guiding hand cool on his shoulder, the tone immediately stopped. The pressure on his head disappeared with a suddenness that made him physically jolt, leaving behind a quivering nausea. 

“Please follow me,” Dr. Acxa said smoothly, starting to head back down the hallway. 

“Wait a tick,” Lance said, wavering in place. “I’m not feeling so great.” 

Dr. Acxa frowned at him. “We don’t have all day, Lance. We have a pod being prepped for you, now.” 

Lance shook his head, wiping the growing sweat away from his brow. “Whatever happened to me being allowed to leave at any time?” 

“That was while you were still a citizen of the Altea Space Station,” Dr. Acxa said, crossing her arms. “You are no longer a citizen, and our property. Please come with me.” 

Lance really, really wanted to dig in his heels, or sit down, or do _something_ other than follow her… but she was right. This was literally what he asked for. He thought? He couldn’t remember everything she said in that small office, but it sounded familiar. 

He swallowed his fear and his nervousness and began to approach Dr. Acxa, using the wall to prop himself up until he felt more steady on his feet. 

She didn’t lead him very far. They went through one more door that looked just the same as any other, but on the other side was a long corridor with about a dozen healing pods on each side. Some of them were occupied, and Lance very purposefully made himself not look at what was inside. 

There was one pod that had a couple white-coated people milling about, checking monitors and making notes. One of them, a man with long, startlingly white hair despite his apparent youth, looked up as they approached, and his face split into a toothy smile. 

“Doctor!” he exclaimed, approaching them and tucking his own small tablet into a pocket. “And this must be Lance?” 

Lance nodded, taken aback by this strange man’s apparent friendliness after Dr. Acxa’s cold approach. 

The man reached out his hand as he got close enough, and when Lance took it the man shook it warmly, his other hand coming up to grasp his other elbow. “Thank you very much for volunteering. You will make someone very happy, I’m sure.” 

“Thanks,” Lance said, looking to the side. He wasn’t sure he wanted to make someone happy, anymore. Honestly, he sort of wanted to back out and run back home. There had to have been a better way to help out his family, some way he just didn’t think about, why couldn’t he just _think_ before he acted sometimes…!

“My apologies,” the man said smoothly. “I forgot to introduce myself. Call me Lotor, though I doubt someone as handsome as you would be with us for long.” 

Lance blinked at the name, then looked the guy up and down, realizing why he had seemed so familiar. Lotor was the face of the Galra Institute, the one in all the advertisements and in vids. Whenever they announced new modifications people could give their Pets, he was the one on all the talkshow vids showing it off. His father may have run the actual company, but everyone knew Lotor’s face. 

“What are you doing here?” Lance asked bluntly, still feeling a little off and frankly not caring about being polite anymore. 

“I try to be present for every self-admission,” Lotor said, and when he started to caress Lance’s elbow through his sleeve he realized that Lotor had yet to let him go. “It makes me feel important to have a hand in the molding in every one of our Pets.” 

Lance shuddered with disgust at the words, especially considering that they were being applied to _him._ He shook off Lotor’s hands, with a muttered, “Sure, okay.” 

Lotor didn’t seem to be upset at Lance’s rudeness, instead hummed to himself with a smile. “Doctor,” he said, still looking at Lance. “Did our Lance here state a preferred base of transformation?” 

“He stated no preference,” Acxa said. 

“Good,” Lotor said. “I do like giving all Pet candidates a choice, as we’ve found it can help Pets adapt. But with no preference I can find something interesting. Doctor, if you would?” 

Lance jumped when a pressure injector was pressed to his forearm, and felt a tingling sensation as whatever Acxa shot him with dispersed into his blood stream. 

“What was that?” Lance squawked, rubbing at his arm. They didn’t leave a mark, but he hated the sensation pressure injectors left behind. 

“It’s a simple booster,” Lotor said, moving to Lance’s side and guiding him physically to the pod where the last whitecoat was working. “It primes your body for the work it’s going to be doing soon. Without it, your body may start cannibalizing itself for the material it needs to work with, rather than the material we provide it while you’re in the pod.” 

Lance tried not to flinch away from Lotor, and instead let him guide him. The pod loomed closer and closer. 

“Sir,” the last whitecoat said, turning to face them. “The pod is primed and ready to go.”

“Thank you,” Lotor said, and the whitecoat nodded and stood aside, giving Lance plenty of room. 

“Please remove your clothing and enter the pod,” Lotor said. He handed Lance a bag from his pocket, and unfolded it reveal it was fairly large and just folded down small. “You can put your clothing and personal items in this bag and it will be sent to whoever you claimed as your beneficiary.” 

Lance took the bag, but looked between Lotor and the other two who were waiting silently. “Um,” he said. “Is there somewhere I can go? Like, a bathroom, or a closet, or-“ 

“Please,” Lotor interrupted, but he didn’t lose that smile, that sharklike smile, now that Lance thought about it. “Remove your clothing, and put them in the bag.” 

Lance gulped, and set the bag down to begin taking off his jacket and shoes. With a steadying breath, he started to strip out of his shirt and pants, flinching when Lotor let out a long breath at Lance’s bare torso, but otherwise all four of them were silent. 

When Lance was nude and awkwardly holding the bag that held his clothes in front of him, the third whitecoat stepped forward and took it from him. Lance clutched it for just a moment, but then let go. 

It was too late. Way too late to change his mind. 

“Step into the pod,” Lotor encouraged, and Lance forced himself to walk forward, his feet and legs weighing heavier than lead. He made himself lean back into the slight recline of the pod, moving each of his limbs independently, like his own body was an uncooperative puppet. 

Too late, he told himself. It’s too late, too late, too late too late toolatetoolatetoolate…

“Very good,” Lotor purred, and Lance looked to the side to see Lotor standing at the controls of the booth. “Thank you very much for your cooperation, Lance. We’ll see you when you wake a changed man.” 

“Wait!” Lance said, and Lotor paused with his hand over the control screen, one eyebrow cocked like he was just waiting for Lance to try and be troublesome again. “…Does it hurt?” he said softly instead, his eyes pleading. 

Lotor’s shark smile softened, and he shook his head. “It is still a healing pod, though a modified one,” he explained. “You will be asleep the entire time. In all of our times performing this procedure, we’ve yet had a single instance of reported pain.” 

“Okay,” Lance breathed. He leaned back into the padded back of the pod and closed his eyes. “I’m ready.” 

“Okay,” Lotor echoed. “Sweet dreams, Lance.” 

The lid of the pod hissed closed, and the last thing Lance knew as free human. 

\-----------------------------------

So, anyone want to take a guess as to what Keith is?


	2. Chapter 2

“If you have any questions,” The young and bubbly attendant said. “Feel free to ask. We’re happy to give you information on any of our Pets currently available for adoption. Just ring the buzzer and I’ll be with you in just a tick!” 

Shiro smiled politely as the attendant left, but it fell off his face as soon as she walked out the door. He and Allura shared a look, and as one looked through the window out into the holding area where the available Pets awaited. 

“It wasn’t like this when I adopted Keith,” Shiro said, letting out a sigh and running a hand through his hair.

“I can’t tell you what I expected,” Allura agreed. “But it wasn’t this.” 

‘This’ was the holding area. 

When Shiro first left to adopt Keith, it was more on a whim than not – he’d just made officer, and along with other newly-minted classmates the first thing they did with credits of their very own was to seek out a Pet. Shiro felt uncomfortable with buying an adult, so he specified wanting someone younger that he could take care of. He was led to what looked like a playroom – the walls were painted bright colors, there were toys strewn around everywhere, and the half-dozen inhabitants were either running around and playing, or sitting and either chatting or playing with dolls and other toys. 

Keith caught his eye because he was the only kit sitting by himself, shoved into a corner, knees drawn up and ears flat back as he glared at anyone who so much as got near.

Shiro was allowed into the nursery, and was encouraged to play with and get to know the cubs inside. Some ran right up to him and wanted to show him their favorite toy or talk his ear off, others were a little more shy and just kept their distance, but Shiro’s eyes kept wandering to the kit in the corner. 

He had a tablet with the names and short bios with every cub in the room, and Shiro had to see this kit’s story. It broke his heart – Keith (no last name given for Pets) was the only son of a technician and emergency responder. His mother died during a routine maintenance when he was very young, and his father died recently during the big fire in one of the poorer districts Shiro had heard about on the news vids. With no family willing or able to claim him, he was sent to the Institute. 

Every cub in the Institute had a similar story – kids didn’t end up there as a first resort, but for some reason Keith was the one that caught and kept his attention. 

But in the end, Shiro thought that the Institute was doing the best they could for their younger charges, as tragic as their presence being there was. He didn’t feel the same about the older Pets’ holding area. 

For one, none of the seven Pets was up and really doing anything – everyone was either sleeping, alone or in groups of entangled limbs, or parked in front of a vid screen that was playing a popular sitcom. The ones that were awake barely even seemed aware of their surroundings – their eyes glazed, mouths slack. Even the ones in front of the vid seemed more mesmerized by the lights and sounds rather than be actually aware of what was going on – jokes and hijinks were met with no reaction. The room was also very bare compared to the nursery. There were blankets and stuffed furry cubes and balls strewn around, many of them claimed by the inhabitants. Shiro watched in fascination as a female Pet rubbed her face hypnotically against the soft fur of a cube she had held tightly in her arms. 

“They’re all drugged to the gills,” Shiro said, his voice hushed though he was fairly certain he couldn’t be heard on the other side of the glass. “Why would they do this?”

“You may notice that many of the Pets exhibit lethargy and may be sleeping,” Allura said, and Shiro looked over to see her reading aloud from a tablet given to them before they entered. “This is normal as part of the process of acclimating them to their new lives. Many Pets are stressed by the changes in their body and their new status, so a mild sedative is administered to help keep them calm. As a new Pet caretaker, you will help your Pet adapt and will be guided in how to wean them off the sedative.” 

“Mild?” Shiro repeated, shocked. “So is this normal for them?” he asked, not able to take his eyes off of the Pets inside. 

“It appears to be,” Allura said softly. “I didn’t know, my father gave me Coran when I was very young, I don’t remember him ever being like this.” 

Coran stepped up to Allura from behind and rested a hand on her shoulder that Allura grasped tightly with her own. “I don’t remember this either, Princess,” he said, the nickname fond. “My memories of the early days of becoming a Pet are very muddled, but they aren’t painful in the least. I was very lucky to have found your family, after all.” 

Allura smiled, closing her eyes. “Thank you, Coran. That does make me feel better.” Opening her eyes, she stepped up to Shiro and touched his elbow lightly where he’d crossed his arms. “Are you sure you want to take on one of these?” she asked. “It may be better to adopt another cub – they are apparently less stressed by the transformations sequence, so you don’t have to worry so much.”

Shiro sighed and shook his head. “No, I still think Keith would be better able to adapt to a Pet around his own age, rather than a cub he’d just feel responsible for.” 

“If you’re sure,” she allowed. Then she gestured at the holding room. “Well?” She said. “Do any of them look good to you?” 

He looked at each of the Pets on display, considering his first impressions before looking any further into any particular one. There definitely was an assortment of species on display – in front of the vid was a young man with long, curving rabbit ears, sitting folded up in the corner was a man tugging rhythmically at actual antlers, two women were curled up together, one with a thickly furred fox tail, the other more drastically changed by having every inch of bared skin covered in silvery green scales down to a spiny whiplike tail that twitched with every breath she took.

Movement caught his eye, and Shiro watched as the rabbit boy peeled himself away from the vid screen and crawled on all fours to another Pet who was curled on his side, the curve of his back and a long dark brown tail the only thing visible from their angle. As Shiro watched, the rabbit Pet sort of slumped into the side of the other (feline?) pet, and he could hear a low whimpering coming from one of the two of them. The feline turned over almost immediately, though his eyes were still closed, and wrapped his arms around the rabbit. At that point Shiro could see red markings on the feline’s face, and more striped markings along where his upper arms were bared by the short sleeves of his shirt. 

“S’ okay,” the feline said, words slurring and clumsy, but still enough to make Shiro jump in surprise. They were the first words they’d heard from any of the Pets yet. “S’alright, s’okay…” The whimpers trailed off into nothing, but still the feline held onto the rabbit, running a clawed hand gently up and down the rabbit’s back, rucking the simple black and purple clothes that all the Pets wore. 

Shiro didn’t realize he’d been staring at the two for a while until Allura cleared her throat beside him and made him jump. When he looked over, she had an eyebrow raised and her hand over the tablet, ready to make a selection. “So, the rabbit or the cat?” she asked. 

Shiro gave her a self-deprecating smile at being caught out. “The cat,” he admitted. 

She tapped the screen, and tilted it so that they both could read the result. 

“His name is Lance,” she read. “Primary genetic donor is the common housecat, secondary is fisher, tertiary includes merino sheep, domestic dog, and… huh, elephant. Personality traits – charismatic, friendly, outgoing... Good with other Pets, which is good for you. They do warn that he does have a competitive streak, however.”

Shiro chuckled, back to watching the two Pets once more. “Some competition might be good for Keith,” he said. “Anything about his family?” 

Allura hummed as she scrolled. “Just something about there being no major medical issues that run in the family. No mention of how he ended up here, either.” 

“That’s odd,” Shiro said, frowning. “When I adopted Keith it mentioned that he was turned over to the Institute after his parents passed away. Do you think that their policy changed since then?” 

“I think,” she said, an odd note in her voice. “That they keep it confidential if they’re a self-surrender.” 

“Ah,” Shiro said softly. He had to wonder what it would take for someone to give up the rest of their life to be a Pet to someone else. How desperate could this Lance have been? What in his life pushed him to that point. 

“Oh, dear,” Allura said, humor thick in her voice. “I do believe we found our hard-luck case,” she teased. 

Shiro smiled at her. “I think you may be right. Well then, let’s let our guide know we’re ready.” 

 

***

The next few minutes was a blur of paperwork, signing, and legalese. Most of it boiled down to that the Institute wasn’t responsible if the Pet ended up having a personality that clashed with that of their caretaker, and that if Shiro ever decided to surrender Lance that he’d first contact the Institute rather than re-home him himself. 

“After all,” the assistant explained. “We run a thorough background check on all of our potential caretakers, and we want to make sure that our Pets end up in qualified homes.”

Shiro figured that was understandable, and signed in the section indicated showing his consent. 

“Now then,” the assistant said, pressing a button on her desk. “Let’s bring in your new pet, and just a couple more things and you can be on your way home.”

Shiro stood from his chair when the door opened, and yet another assistant, this one a mountain of a woman, came in, leading Lance on a leash. Lance was crawling on all fours, and he was looking around in vague confusion, blinking sleepily. 

“Here, why don’t you introduce yourself?” the new assistant suggested, handing the leash over. Shiro took it gingerly, then knelt so that he and Lance could look each other in the eye. That was a little more difficult for Lance, who was slightly cross-eyed and unfocused, but it made Shiro feel better once he was on a more even level. 

“Hi there,” Shiro said softly. “My name is Takashi Shirogane, but you can call me Shiro. I’ll be taking care of you from now on.” Lance didn’t react, he didn’t even appear to have heard the words. Shiro frowned and looked up at the second assistant. “When is the sedative going to wear off?” he asked, annoyed. He’s seen dozens of Pets throughout his life, and none of them were as drugged up as Lance was. He didn’t want a Pet so out of it he might as well have been talking to a vid screen. 

“We recommend keeping him on the medication for at least a couple days, so that he has time to acclimate to his new home and role,” the first assistant smoothly broke in, when the second just stared dispassionately back at Shiro. “This is a very stressful time for him right now, and all of our studies have determined this is the best course for new Pets.” 

“How can he acclimate to anything when he doesn’t even know what’s going on?” Shiro growled, rising to his feet, the leash still clenched in his fist. 

“If you are unwilling for follow policy,” the first attendant said, as chipper and bubbly as ever, “You are under no obligation to purchase a Pet at this time. As I said, we have found this to be easiest on our new Pets and their caretakers.” 

Shiro bit his tongue, but relaxed his hold on the leash. Getting annoyed at the Institute workers wouldn’t help anyone, let alone Lance. At least he knew that the sooner he brought Lance home, the sooner he’d be off those drugs and in a nice, comfortable home. 

“I’ll keep him on the medication,” Shiro allowed finally. “But I want to start weaning him off of it as soon as I can.” 

The first assistant (what _was_ her name, actually? Ezor?) just smiled back at him. “That is your choice. A shipment will be arriving in your quarters later this quintant with his first movement’s worth of feed along with his sedative. You will find on your personal data station information on his care, and recommended training protocols. We also provide guided training sessions free of charge.”

Shiro nodded, and shifted, wanting to get out of there. As time passed, he was getting more and more uncomfortable with how the Institute regarded Pets. Sure, they weren’t exactly normal people, not anymore, but everything just seemed so cold and undignified. 

“That’s fine, I think I’ll manage,” he said, starting to gravitate towards the door. “If that’s all, I’d like to be heading back to my quarters?” 

“One last thing, officer,” Ezor said, rounding the desk with two items in her hand. Shiro winced – he’d almost forgotten about the collar. “This is only a temporary model if you want it to be – most caretakers replace one that the like better later. But Pets cannot leave their caretaker’s quarters without a collar on.” 

“I know,” Shiro sighed, taking the collar and control bracelet from her. Both were very simple models – dark grey sturdy material, the collar lined with a softer cloth to prevent chafing. He knelt and slipped it around Lance’s neck, though the Pet didn’t seem to even notice. Shiro wrapped the bracelet around his own wrist and activated it, watching as a matching green light turned on at Lance’s collar. 

“Alright buddy,” he said softly, gently grasping Lance’s shoulder and guiding him up to his feet. “Let’s get going and we can get that off of you when we get home.” 

“Um,” Ezor piped up, and Shiro sighed before giving her one last look. 

“Yes?” he said, as politely as he could manage. 

“Here at the Institute,” she started, and Shiro was beginning to get very annoyed at everything that sounded like that. “We encourage new caretakers return to their living quarters with their Pets in the submissive position,” she explained, referring to the on-all-fours walk some owners forced their Pets to take. “We find it helps new Pets to adapt to their new status, and forms a bond between caretaker and Pet.” 

“It’s a recommendation?” Shiro said bluntly. “But not a policy, right?” 

“That is correct,” Ezor hedged. “But it is a very strong recommendation, for the comfort of the Pet, especially since their sense of balance can be compromised right now.” 

“I’ll keep that in mind,” Shiro said, dry. Then, softer, “Come on, Lance, follow me.” He kept the leash slack, instead guiding Lance towards the doorway with a gentle hand on his shoulder. 

As he passed through the door, Ezor piped up with, “Please enjoy your new Pet, and let us know if you have any questions or need any assistance!” 

The moment the doorway swooshed shut behind them, Allura and Coran, who were waiting in the reception area outside, jumped to their feet. 

“It looks like everything went well,” Allura said, a smile on her face. “Congratulations, Shiro.” 

“Thanks,” he said, trying to match her enthusiasm. “Do you mind if the two of us head straight back to my quarters? I want to get this guy settled as soon as possible.” 

Allura’s smile turned soft and understanding. “That is not an issue. I am scheduled for the next shift, so I need to head back to my own quarters and freshen up really quick.” 

Shiro looked at the chronometer above the reception desk and winced. “I’m so sorry, Allura, I didn’t realize how much time this took up. Let’s get going, then.” 

Allura waved off his concern, but didn’t waste any time in leading the way out of the Institute, Coran at her heels and Shiro guiding Lance with an arm around his waist to help keep him going in a straight line. “I wanted to come, Shiro. As I said before, Father bought me Coran when I was a child, and I’ve always been curious about the process.” 

Shiro’s face scrunched like he’d bitten into a bad lemon. “I wish I knew less,” he said. 

Allura met his eyes with concern as they approached the steps that would lead them to a train station. “Are you having second thoughts?” she asked. 

Shiro thought for a moment and shook his head. “No, not really,” he admitted. “I’m glad I got someone out of that place, and I still think Keith would benefit from having someone else around, especially when I’m on a long assignment. But I didn’t expect it to be so… cold, and impersonal. When I adopted Keith they pretty much treated the cubs as regular kids. But Lance and the other adults just seemed like things to them.” 

“It’s not as if they’re human any longer,” Allura said off-handedly, but then she winced. “But I understand. The way they were just drugged up and left in a room with nothing like that…” she shuddered. “The thought of Coran being stuck in there before Father rescued him…” 

“As I said before, Princess,” Coran said softly. “I don’t remember my time there. I’m sure it’s the same for the others, and once they get that nasty concoction out of their system they’ll all be right as rain in no time!” 

Allura smiled at him, but didn’t respond until after their train had arrived and they’d sat down on the thankfully mostly empty car. Shiro had to tug on Lance’s shirt to get him to sit, and to his surprise Lance bypassed the seat entirely and ended up curling up on the floor, leaning heavily into Shiro’s thigh. Shiro blinked, surprised, but let his hand drop to card through Lance’s surprisingly soft thick hair. 

“You are kind, Coran,” Allura said, jolting Shiro out of his distraction. “But I still wish it didn’t have to be this way.” 

Shiro, still running his fingers through Lance’s hair and massaging behind his pert catlike ears, said, “It’s… distressing, but it is a necessary evil. Without the Pet program we’d have a lot more of a drain on resources than the Garrison can really handle.” 

Allura hummed, her lips pursed, and refused to meet his eyes. “I wonder,” was all she said. The four of them sat in an uncomfortable silence, Shiro unsure of how to break it and a little confused about Allura’s mindset. The Pet program was started to find a place in society for long-term criminals – the station was far too small to have a prison, and non-human animals were not allowed to live on the station, so it seemed a good way to allow people who can afford the care of another person while still allowing them to fulfill the niche of classic pets. When it became more and more popular, others were rolled into the program. Orphans like Keith, debtors who couldn’t earn the credits it took to house and feed them, and others. Eventually, people could self-surrender for a tidy sum they could send to friends or family. It was a neat solution, even if it did have its problems. 

The train screeched to a halt, interrupting Shiro’s musings, and he rose to his feet, guiding Lance up as he did. “This is our stop,” he said needlessly to Allura. “I’ll be seeing you around?” 

Allura smiled back at him and nodded. “Contact me when you have time,” she said as Shiro left the car. “And let me know how Keith takes to Lance!” 

“Don’t worry,” Shiro grinned. “I’m sure they’ll be best friends in no time!” 

***

Keith glanced at the chronometer as he wiped down the counter, brow wrinkling in irritation. Shiro would normally be back a varga or two ago, or at least would have contacted him to let him know when he’d be back. Instead, all he’d been told was that Shiro would be a little late, and to go ahead and have dinner without him. 

There had been something in his voice, though, that had Keith worried. He’d been living with Shiro for pheebs, and if there was one thing he’d learned it was not to trust that tone of voice. It was a tone of voice that said, “I’m going to surprise you with something I’m sure you’re going to love.” 

Keith hated surprises. They never turned out well for him. 

His ears twitched at the sound of a familiar tread echoing down the hall approaching their quarters, Shiro’s solid footsteps echoed by another person – someone lighter, and unsteady on their feet. Keith wrinkled his nose – did Shiro bring home someone drunk? It wouldn’t be the first time – Shiro would much rather bring someone to his quarters to take care of them than leave them alone. Keith would have to put up with the stares and the comments, but thankfully Shiro would make it clear that Keith was off-limits. Still, Keith got out three drinking glasses instead of two, and by the time Keith rounded the kitchen divider to approach the entrance Shiro was already closing the door behind him. 

Keith stopped dead in his tracks, he blank but pleasant expression he put on for Shiro’s guests melting off his face. 

“What,” he said tonelessly. “Is that.”

 _’That’_ being the Pet Shiro had his arm around. It was apparently male, roughly his age, though it could be hard to tell with Pets. He had an obvious feline base, with small pointed ears and a long tail he dragged behind himself. Keith couldn’t get a clear look at the Pet’s face, since he was slumped into Shiro’s side and had his face buried in Shiro’s neck, something that made Keith bristle and lay his ears back against his skull. The other Pet didn’t even seem aware of his surroundings, but the fact that he was in Keith and Shiro’s quarters and hanging all over his Owner made Keith’s hackles rise.

“This,” Shiro said pointedly, nudging the other Pet with his shoulder so that his face was more visible. “Is Lance. He’s going to be staying with us from now on.” He guided the other Pet, Lance, over to the couch and said in a softer voice, “Here, let’s get you laying down.” 

“What do you mean, he’ll be staying with us?” Keith asked, following them at a distance with his arms crossed, ears flicking back and to this sides, back and forth. “You don’t mean here, do you?” 

“Of course I mean here,” Shiro said, laying the feline down across the couch. The feline mumbled incoherently in response, grasping with clawed hands towards Shiro, but seemed to settle when Shiro ran his fingers through his hair. “He’ll be keeping you company while I’m away.” 

“I don’t need anyone to keep me company,” Keith grumbled. He walked to the other end of the living room, putting some space between himself and the other Pet, and leaned up against the wall. “I do just fine on my own.” 

Shiro sat at the end of the couch, continuing to run his fingers through the other Pet’s hair. Keith’s fingers twitched. “You and I both know that’s not true,” Shiro said. “And I know you don’t want a Pet sitter-“ 

“I don’t!” Keith snapped, and Shiro just nodded, shushing Lance when he shifted uneasily at Keith’s shout. 

“So,” he continued, gently, but firmly. “Lance will stay here with you when I’m gone.”

Keith gritted his teeth and looked to the side, but then closed his eyes and sighed, forefully calming himself. Shiro let himself gather himself, looking down at Lance who’d seemed to have discovered his own tail and was holding it, rubbing the tip of the tail against his lips and muttering. 

“What’s wrong with him?” Keith asked eventually, and Shiro glanced up to see Keith taking a curious step forward, ears tentatively pricking forward. 

Shiro grimaced. He was becoming more and more thankful that he didn’t have to watch Keith have to be drugged to the gills when he bought him. Seeing Lance, a young adult, go through it was bad enough – if he had to walk in and see a bunch of drugged kids stuck in a room together he may have hurt something. Or someone. 

“It’s apparently policy,” Shiro said, voice bitter. Lance made an upset noise and Shiro forced his tone to gentle once more. “To keep new Pets sedated for a while. They say it’s to help him.” 

“That’s…” Keith started taking another couple steps forward. “So… _dumb!_ ” His tone was baffled, and Shiro swallowed back a laugh as Keith’s emotive ears flicked back and forth in confusion. “He knew what was going to happen to him, right? So he’s probably more confused now than he would if he just… I don’t know, woke up with a tail.” 

Shiro nodded. “I have to agree,” he said. “Don’t worry though, I’m going to wean him off the sedation as soon as I can. It’ll take a few days, though. I hate to ask,” Shiro said carefully. “But would you mind keeping an eye on him while I’m at work? He should still be mostly out of it during my work period if I give him the sedative before I work, but hopefully he’ll start becoming more and more aware.” 

Keith sighed, crouching down to be face-to-face with Lance, this new Pet he was having to share his living quarters with. He restrained the urge to make another face. “Sure,” he said, leaning in and his nose twitching as he sniffed at Lance. 

Lance blinked blearily, staring back at Keith. His gaze slowly shifted up to Keith’s ears, then followed them up, up, up. 

A dopey grin split Lance’s face. “Bunny!” he exclaimed. 

Keith surged to his feet, those long lapine ears that so fascinated Lance lying flat back against his skull as he spun back towards the kitchen. “I cooked dinner,” he muttered “I’m going to eat mine in my room.” 

Shiro chuckled, looking down at Lance who was staring after Keith in mind confusion. Of course the first thing out of Lance’s mouth was exactly the wrong thing to say to get on his good side. “Don’t worry,” he said, ruffling Lance’s hair and smiling down at him when Lance turned his head to blink up at him. “You’ll win him over.” 

***

And the winner for “What animal is Keith” is… Rabbit! Like Lance he’s got influences from other animals, but his base animal is a domestic rabbit. It seemed like everyone guessed wolf, which I was considering, but doing some research into rabbit body language (which was going to be what LANCE was going to be at first) I found that they seemed to scream Keith.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mostly just some boring domesticity in this chapter, showing off Keith and Shiro’s daily life before Lance gets to throw a wrench in the works. I’m not entirely happy with the pacing, but the second half, where you get a look into Lance’s POV should pick things up a bit.

\---------------------------------

An unusual sound startled Keith into blinking wakefulness. It wasn’t the first time it happened in the past couple vargas, so he just curled back up, his back to the room’s only other occupant. 

It wasn’t long after Shiro had arrived with Lance in tow that they had a delivery from the Institute; they had brought some items that had come apparently standard with purchase, including food they didn’t have to synthesize themselves, clothing, and a simple floor pallet for a bed. Shiro had made faces at everything, telling the dozy Lance that he’d help Lance pick out replacements when he was ‘feeling better.’ 

“Feeling better,” like Lance had a cold. 

Of course, Shiro insisted on bedding Lance down in _Keith’s_ room. True, their quarters only _had_ the two bedrooms, but Keith still didn’t want Lance in his space, keeping him up at night with his shifting and muttering and grunting. At first each sound had Keith sitting up in bed, glaring at the other occupant until he was sure Lance was done being a nuisance, and then thumping his pillow until it was just right and going back to sleep. Eventually he just blocked the sounds out as well as he could, once even pulling the blanket up and over his head until Lance quieted back down. 

There was another, louder thump, then shuffling sounds that gradually got closer. 

Keith looked over his shoulder to see Lance approaching the bed, body loose, and eyes barely open enough that Keith could just see a glimpse of his eyes glinting under his lashes. 

“What do you want?” Keith muttered. Then yelped when Lance seemed to fall face-first into his bed, wrapping an arm around Keith’s waist and burying his face into Keith’s hip. 

“No,” Keith said, pushing at Lance’s shoulder. “No, no, no, you are not cuddling me. Back to your own bed.” 

Lance was refusing to budge, instead he seemed to grab on even tighter, letting out a low upset whine as Keith tried to pry his arms off him. Keith planted one hand against Lance’s forehead, the other one against Lance’s arm, and _pushed_ , even so far as bringing his legs up against Lance’s belly and pushing, but Lance seemed to cling on even more tightly, his claws a warning prick against Keith’s sides. 

Keith gave up, letting his arms splay on either side of him and sighing. He rubbed at his face, staring up at his ceiling as Lance seemed to curl up and burrow happily against Keith’s side, even to the point of throwing one of his legs across Keith’s thigh.

“Fine,” he muttered, looking down at the feline. “Have it your way.” 

He felt overwarm and crowded, and the bed was definitely not big enough for two full-grown Pets to share – Keith wasn’t even sure how Lance wasn’t tipping off the side in his sleep. But he was tired, and Lance seemed happy and ready to go to sleep, so maybe he’d be quiet. Keith shifted closer to the wall experimentally, and Lance just wiggled until he was once more glued to his side. 

Keith closed his eyes. Maybe Lance was only being so clingy because of the drugs, and once he was off them he’d be less insufferable. 

He couldn’t wait.

\-----------------------------------

Keith woke up to a deep rumbling against his chest, and a hand rubbing rhythmically against the base of his ear. He sighed, leaning into the hand, a smile spreading across his face at the warm feeling growing in his belly. He was comfortable and warm, and for the first time in he didn’t know how long he didn’t want to get up and do anything. 

Despite the cozy feeling though, he began to frown. Something wasn’t right. As nice as it was, this wasn’t normal. Keith didn’t wake up warm and comfortable. 

He blinked awake and came face-to-face with Lance. 

The other Pet had moved during the night, and they were laying chest-to-chest, Lance’s nose planted in Keith’s collar. The thrumming against his chest was a Lance purring, and it was he who was petting Keith’s ear. Keith leaned back just enough for Lance to let go of his ear, making Lance grunt but he curled his hand up against his chest. 

A slight movement across the room caught Keith’s eye, making him look up to see Shiro leaning against the doorway, a teasing grin on his face. He was dressed in a simple T-shirt and running shorts, his usual gym clothes. 

“I’m glad to see you two getting along,” he said softly, a laugh in his voice. 

“Shut up,” Keith muttered, peeling himself away from Lance and sliding out of bed at the foot so that he wouldn’t disturb the other Pet. He refused to look at Shiro as he changed into his gym clothes out of some vain hope that if he didn’t look at him, Shiro wouldn’t notice how red his face was bound to be. 

“No, really,” Shiro said, and Keith fully turned his back on that gigantic jackass as he pulled his shirt over his head. “I expected you to at least be a little more reticent before inviting him into your bed, but you surpass even my expectations.” 

Keith finally faced Shiro, relatively certain that his face was its normal color. “Can we go now?” he asked impatiently. 

Shiro chuckled but dropped the teasing. “Yeah,” he said. “Let’s go.” 

Keith had taken just a couple steps when he stopped, and they both as one looked at the still-sleeping Lance. 

“It shouldn’t hurt to bring him along,” Shiro mused aloud. “Why don’t you wake him and meet me in the living room?” 

“Sure,” Keith said, crossing over to the bed and shaking Lance’s shoulder as Shiro disappeared from the doorway. Lance responded by curling up and whining. “C’mon,” Keith said, this time taking Lance by the shoulders and forcing him into a sitting position. “The sooner you get up the sooner you can go back to sleep.” 

“Nooooo…” Lance whined, making Keith pause in surprise before he threw one of Lance’s arms around his shoulders and bodily hauled Lance to his feet. Thankfully they were about the same height (Keith’s ears didn’t count), so that even though Lance was dragging his feet Keith was able to drag him out the door. 

Shiro was waiting by the door to their quarters, a collar in each hand and a control bracelet on each wrist. When Keith came close he passed Lance over, the feline slumping into Shiro and nuzzling into his chest. As Shiro fastened Lance’s utilitarian, blank collar, Keith put his own on. Neither Shiro nor Keith cared much about fashion, but Keith thought his collar looked good enough – supple black synthetic leather with red stitching, the sensor small enough that it blended into the clasp. 

Shiro led the way to the building’s gym, where there were only a couple handful of other residents using the space. They were all Garrison, like everyone else in the residential building, and the ones not too absorbed in their own exercise nodded a greeting to Shiro, though they were usually tinged with curiosity as Shiro led Lance to a quiet area up against the wall and sat him down. Lance looked around blearily for a moment, one pointed ear twitching at the clank of weights meeting. 

“Stay there,” Keith heard Shiro tell him. “We’ll be back soon.” His voice was gentle like Keith rarely ever heard from him. It made him feel uncomfortable, a tight squirming feeling in his belly that he didn’t want to look too deeply into. 

Shiro gave Lance a parting scritch behind the ear and turned to meet back up with Keith. “Ready?” he asked, heading to the cardio machine. 

“Are you?” Keith shot back, making Shiro grin. 

They both warmed up with cardio. Done with that, they moved to one of the attached rooms, this one empty but the floors were soft and padded. There they began to spar each other, fighting hand-to-hand and though Shiro was bigger, stronger, and more skilled, Keith was able to hold his own, for the most part. Every time Shiro got him on the ground and Keith would tap out, they’d stand back up, and they’d do it all over again. 

Eventually, Shiro glanced at the chronometer and relaxed his stance, Keith following suit after a moment just to make sure it wasn’t a trick. “We should get back,” Shiro said, wiping sweat from his face with the tail of his shirt. “I have to report in in a couple vargas.” 

Keith tried not to let his disappointment show as he followed Shiro back to the main room to fetch Lance, who was staring at the weights someone was lifting with a focused intensity that made Keith pause until Shiro managed to peel Lance away, apparently to the weight-lifter’s relief. 

When they returned to Shiro’s quarters they split up, Keith to the kitchen to fuss with the food synthesizer, Shiro to take his shower after dropping Lance off at the table. By the time he walked out, toweling his dark hair dry and dressed in his Garrison uniform, Keith was just finishing up his ration bar breakfast, Shiro’s share on the kitchen counter. Shiro glanced at Lance and saw the feline nibbling on his own bar, breaking pieces off and popping them in his mouth before chewing slowly. Shiro made a face at the bar Lance was eating. While the ones from the synthesizer were colored bright primary colors to indicate flavor and just to look more appetizing, the drugged bars sent by the Institute were a washed out purple-grey. 

“Make sure he gets a normal meal for lunch,” Shiro advised. “I’d like him to get off that stuff sooner rather than later.” They’d given him a normal ration bar for dinner the quintent before, and it made Shiro happy to see Lance looking so much more aware than he had been, but they still needed to be careful taking Lance off the sedatives. He’d read some of the additional information the Institute sent with Lance’s supplies, and the warnings against going cold-turkey were pretty dire from a health standpoint.

“Sure,” Keith said, sliding past Shiro to take his own shower, leaving Owner and Pet alone together. 

Shiro took the seat adjacent to Lance and rested his hand on top of Lance’s, halting the mechanical process of food to mouth, and Lance just looked down at Shiro’s paler hand with furrowed, confused brows like he wasn’t sure why his hand wasn’t moving anymore. 

“Hey,” Shiro said softly, and smiled when Lance’s gaze travelled so slowly up from their joined hands to Shiro’s face. “I’ve got to go to work now, okay? I’m not going to be gone long, just a standard cycle today.” Lance didn’t react, though Shiro didn’t honestly expect him to by then. “Keith will make sure you get some lunch, you don’t worry about anything other than getting some rest, alright?” 

Lance blinked at Shiro in response.

Shiro just smiled sadly and scruffed the top of his head, Lance leaning into the touch. Shiro could see the sedatives in the food hitting him, putting him even deeper under. He was starting to at least react to things around him, but after even just half a ration bar he was back to the blank stares. 

By the time Keith was out of his own shower Shiro had Lance stretched out on the couch and had put on a children’s show from Earth. He felt uncomfortable doing it, like he was infantilizing his new Pet and having uncomfortable memories of the holding area from the previous quintent, but not having anything going on for Lance to look at made him even more uneasy. Plus, he figured that the bright colors and generally cheery theme would keep his attention. 

Keith was so much easier when Shiro bought him. 

Speaking of, Shiro stood from where he was crouched next to the couch and petting Lance’s hair and turned towards Keith. “Alright,” he said. “I have to go. I should be home around 18 varga unless something holds me up.” He made a face, glancing at Lance. “I’m sorry to have to leave you two alone like this – one of the reasons I got an older Pet was because I didn’t want you to have to take care of anything.” 

Keith snorted and straightened the already-impeccable lines of Shiro’s uniform. Shiro rolled his eyes but let Keith fuss. “Don’t worry about it,” Keith said. “It’s not like he can get into any trouble like he is, anyway.” 

“True,” Shiro conceded, and stepped back, letting Keith’s hands drop from his chest. “Take care,” he said, giving one of Keith’s ears a tug and smiling when he flicked it irritably out of his hand, then walked out the door, leaving Keith and Lance alone once more. 

Keith looked at Lance, who was just staring blankly at the screen. Curious, he waved his hand in front of Lance’s eyes, frowning when Lance didn’t even so much as blink in reaction. 

He crossed his arms and sighed. Until Lance got off of whatever drugs the Institute had him on, he wouldn’t even be decent company. Which was just fine with Keith – he was used to being left alone for hours on end. Rather than look at the vid screen, Keith grabbed the tablet Shiro let him use and pulled up a book to read after setting the chronometer to alert him when it was time for lunch.

Keith was a voracious reader, every day reading while Shiro was at work. For a while Shiro paid individually for the books, but when he found out that Keith would read the same ones over and over again rather than ask Shiro to spend what he considered to be ‘too many’ credits on him, Shiro paid for a subscription service that would allow him to read thousands of books all he wanted. Keith had dozens bookmarked on his tablet, and dozens more tagged for later reading. 

Of course, he preferred reading on the couch, stretched out with his head on one arm, feet pressing into the other. With Lance hogging his space, Keith curled up in the reclining chair slightly to the side. He eyed Lance before getting too comfortable, glancing between the lethargic Pet and the vid screen for a moment before shaking his head and turning on the tablet. 

For some reason, the other Pet made him nervous. He didn’t like him being on his couch. He didn’t like Lance being in his room, either. It made him twitchy, it made him want to stomp his feet just to see Lance jump, or push him off the couch so that he could lay on it. 

Both reactions, he knew, were useless. Lance wouldn’t flinch if someone so much as flew a spacecraft into their living room, with how much sedative he had in his system, and as tempting as it was, dumping the feline onto the floor would just be _mean_. 

He just had to wait, he decided. Wait until Lance had his right mind back and they could talk over what was Keith’s (the couch, the room, Shiro, the plate that had the small chip on the side where he’d dropped it a pheeb ago), and what Lance could use (the recliner, the one corner of the room where Shiro had set up Lance’s bed, the drinking glass that was several pheebs old and, while still good to drink out of, was starting to get discolored and both Shiro and Keith both shied away from using unless they had to). 

Keith paused and shook his head, hard, ears slanting back in embarrassed seld-recrimination. Was he really getting… what, territorial over his things? Over Shiro? His Owner was a grown man, and not to mention it was supposed to be the other way around – Shiro owned both Keith _and_ Lance, so Keith had no business in getting territorial. 

Still, he remembered the soft tone of voice Shiro always used with Lance, he thought of how Shiro would run his hands through Lance’s hair or gently touch him to guide him to where he needed to go, and felt his belly clench in something he couldn’t name. Jealousy? Want? Anger?

It wasn’t like Shiro didn’t touch him, he did. But Keith didn’t want him also touching Lance. 

He couldn’t say anything, though – after all, Shiro owned them both, so he had the right to touch them or not touch them however he wanted. Still, he found himself not wanting Lance to be around Shiro. Shiro already didn’t seem happy with the feline – it was obvious that Shiro didn’t expect to have a Pet that would be drugged to uselessness, so maybe he’d get annoyed enough to return Lance. 

With that cheery thought, he turned back to his book and shut out the world around him. 

\----------------------

The alarm buzzing some couple varga later startled him enough to make him fumble with the tablet, he’d been drawn so deeply into the fantasy novel he’d been reading. He set it aside and stretched, feeling his toes crack satisfyingly. It was only when he relaxed that he became aware of a whimpering noise and a shifting coming from the couch. 

Lance seemed upset about something, his eyebrows furrowed and his body curled up. Keith glanced at the vid screen, but it was just advertising some sort of singing competition. Trite, but nothing to get worked up over. When he noticed that Lance hand both hands shoved between his legs it suddenly clicked for him. 

“Oh, shit,” Keith said, jumping to his feet and hauling Lance by one arm to the bathroom. 

He worried that he’d have to help Lance, but as soon as the feline caught sight of the toilet he seemed to go on auto-pilot, standing in front of the toilet and pushing the elasticized waist of the Institute-issued pants down. Keith left the bathroom to give him his privacy, thanking his lucky stars that Lance was apparently not _that_ out of it, or else he wouldn’t have been able to face the other Pet in the eye ever again. He still hovered near the doorway, though, just in case the feline got lost or needed help. 

Thankfully, Lance seemed to have everything under control, and Keith even heard the faucet run, though after that he seemed to run out of steam – the faucet had long since shut off on its own when Keith peeked inside to see Lance staring off into space. But his hands were damp from being washed and his pants, though crooked, were pulled up, so Keith considered it a win in his book.

“C’mon,” he said, voice soft but a little impatient as he guided Lance out of the bathroom and back to the kitchen. He sat Lance at the table before plugging in a request for a simple sweetened ration bar into the food synthesizer, figuring if Lance wanted any specific flavors, he could ask for them. While the synthesizer hummed away, he cut an apple in half and cut one part into bite-sized sections, sliding them over to Lance to eat while he waited for his lunch. 

He’d just poured them both a glass a water (Lance’s in the old discolored one) when he became aware of a quiet sniffling. He looked over to see Lance hunched over so low his face was just inches away from the plate of apple slices, only the top of his head visible. 

“Lance…?” Keith said, stepping warily closer. The other Pet didn’t answer, though it wasn’t like Keith expected him to. But instead there was another sniffle, one that caught in Lance’s throat and became a sob. 

Gingerly, Keith rested his hand on Lance’s quivering back and leaned over to get a better look at him. Lance’s face was screwed up, teeth clenched, his face red, and as Keith watched fat tears began to squeeze out between his clamped shut eyelids. 

“Are you…” Keith started, feeling foolish and useless. “…Okay?” He finished lamely, and Lance seemed to take that as permission to start bawling in earnest. Fake wrecked, heaving great chest-surging sobs, his arms wrapped around himself. 

Panicking slightly, Keith tried to move the plate of apple slices away since it looked like Lance was going to faceplant right into them, but Lance grabbed at it, circling the plate in his arms protectively and shoving a slice into his mouth, chewing and crying all at once in a burst of more movement than Keith had seen from him since he’d gotten there. 

“Okay, buddy,” he said, straightening. “They’re all yours.” He watched in fascination as Lance seemed to inhale the fruit between gasps. It wasn’t until Lance started to gag that Keith stepped in once more, worried, “hey, hey, hey” falling from his lips as he pushed the plate across the table, batting away Lance’s hands when he tried reaching for them. “Slow down, you can’t just-“ he started to say, but Lance had turned to him and launched himself at him. 

Keith took a step back, arms raised and ready to defend himself, but Lance was… hugging him. He was mostly out of his chair, his tail curled tight against his body, arms wrapped around Keith’s waist and face planted in Keith’s belly like a twisted repeat of their position vargas ago in bed, but this time instead of Lance being sleepy and affectionate, he was crying messily into Keith’s shirt. 

“H-hey,” Keith said. Unsure of what to do with his hands, he put one on Lance’s shoulder and rested the other on top of Lance’s head. Lance didn’t seem to mind it when Shiro did it to him, and Keith always liked a good head-scratch when he was feeling low, so he stroked Lance’s hair, massaging the area behind his ears. 

He wasn’t sure if it was helping. He wasn’t sure what to do – a large part of him wanted to break away and call Shiro and ask him to help him fix Lance. Eventually, though, Lance seemed to run out of steam. He still had his arms clenched around Keith, but his wailing sobs turned to shudders turned back into sniffles. 

Keith gently tilted Lance’s head back and studied his face. It was a mess – tears and snot smeared all over his skin (and Keith’s shirt, gross), skin blotchy, and his bottom lip still quivering. He still seemed mostly out of it, but to Keith’s surprise he seemed to be trying to focus on Keith’s face, though he was still pretty cross-eyed. 

Keith twisted his shirt until he got to a clean section and wiped Lance’s face with it, smirking at Lance’s wrinkled-up cranky expression in response. He pulled Lance to his feet and got him his water, helping Lance tilt the glass so that he wouldn’t spill everywhere. When the glass was drained, Keith guided Lance back to the living room and onto the couch, where he lay the other Pet down. Lance whimpered and reached for him, but before he got too upset Keith sat next to him, and Lance happily pressed the crown of his head against Keith’s hip. 

That’s where Shiro found them vargas later, Lance sleeping next to Keith, with the lapine Pet reading holding his tablet in one hand, the other carding soothingly through Lance’s hair, over and over.

\-------------------------------------------

Lance knew there was something wrong with him. 

Every time he opened his eyes he seemed to be some place new. He’d blink five doboshes later and he’d be curled up in bed, blink again and he’s in front of a vid screen, blink again and someone was helping him brush his teeth. The spaces in between felt distant and hazy, like a dream.  
Thankfully, those moments seemed to be getting fewer. He couldn’t exactly say how he knew, but that feeling of a black tidal wave pulling him under didn’t seem to be happening as often, and he found himself looking around and wanting to find out about his new environment. 

He wasn’t stupid – he knew someone had bought him. He just couldn’t seem to _care_. 

Every now and then he’d be face-to-face with a man a few years older than himself, a man dressed in the Garrison officer’s uniform. His Owner? It was the only person, the only human Lance seemed to have contact with. More often he’d see another Pet – a rabbit whose long curving ears was an endless source of fascination. He found himself unable to tear his eyes away from those ears, their small movements and twitches hypnotic. More than once he found himself being pulled under while watching those ears.

That was a frustration Lance didn’t expect. He started to have moments where he almost felt normal, but then he would end up falling asleep or whatever it was, and coming back out of it was like trying to climb out of tar – it clung and kept trying to pull you back under, and just when you thought you were free you’d end up sliding backwards back in. 

It didn’t help that everything seemed fascinating. 

He figured he was drugged, and it wasn’t a result of him being turned into a Pet. At least, he hoped that was why he would ‘wake up’ and realize that he had spent who knew how long poking at a spot on the couch where a snagged thread ruined the smooth surface.

But the drugs seemed to be wearing off, or maybe Lance was just becoming more adjusted to them, because while he could almost remember the trip to the trip to his new Owner’s quarters, it was dim and blurry. Recently, his waking moments started to become more clear. 

He also started giving a damn about things anymore. For a while he just went where people pulled him, ate what they put in front of him, slept where they dropped him. 

He’d had enough when the rabbit Pet put a bright yellow ration bar in front of him one quintent. He made a face, pushing it away. “No,” he said. 

Both his Owner and the rabbit stopped their conversation and stared at him. He looked back, knowing that his bottom lip was sticking out but not caring. He also didn’t care that he was being disobedient – the rabbit was there before him and probably ranked higher than Lance or whatever, but Lance didn’t care, _hated_ the yellow ration bars.

“What was that?” his Owner asked. Lance tried to focus on him, but he seemed to be wavering in and out of focus. Lance glared at him.

“No,” he repeated. He tried to focus his unsteady thoughts on what he wanted to say. ‘No’ was simple. It was a grunt, really, something any toddler could and would say as often as possible. He needed to explain himself, to express what he wanted to say, to be able to put his thoughts in order to communicate. 

He opened his mouth, lips and tongue working for a moment until he finally was able to get out, “Blue.” He beamed. He did it!

His Owner and the rabbit looked at each other, and Lance grinned between the two of them, obviously they were in awe of his ability to speak. 

“Did you want the raspberry flavor?” his Owner asked, holding up his own uneaten blue ration bar. 

Lance nodded, though he had to brace himself when he got dizzy. 

His Owner chuckled, and slid the bar in front of Lance, taking the yellow for himself. 

“Shiro-“ the rabbit started, but their Owner waved him away. 

“It’s fine, Keith,” his Owner said. Shiro? That was a pretty name. “I can eat a lemon bar if forced to.” 

“You can have-“ the rabbit (Keith? That was _also_ a pretty name!) said, but this time cut himself off. Lance followed the rabbit’s gaze, and saw that the rabbit had already eaten half of his own bar. 

Lance chortled and started gnawing on his beautiful blue ration bar. 

Keith was silly. 

Still, when Keith wandered close enough Lance leaned up against him, wrapping and arm around his leg casually as he chewed his breakfast. Keith was nice and warm, and nice and warm was better than being not-warm. He could feel Keith tense, the muscles under his leg becoming firmer, and he held the bar in his mouth while he patted the muscle until it relaxed. For some reason it took a while, long enough that Lance had drooled a little around the bar. Thankfully, Keith’s shirt was right there to take care of that. 

Shiro had a nice laugh. 

Lance wished he could hear Keith’s. 

“You need to laugh more,” Lance said, but it was some time later and he and Keith were in their bedroom. 

“Go to sleep, Lance,” Keith said, but he was _all the way_ over on the other side of the room, and Lance crawled on hands and feet over to Keith’s bed and poked him until he grunted and rolled over to face Lance. 

“Smile,” he said, poking Keith’s face. He meant to pull Keith’s lips into a smile, but he thinks he might have just poked his cheek. 

“Ow,” Keith hissed, batting Lance’s hand away. “Quit it. Are you going to be like this all the time when you’re off that stuff?” 

“Yuuup,” Lance drawled, though he wasn’t entirely sure what Keith meant. He paused, and said it again. “Yup. Yup yup yuuuuup.” He popped the p’s a couple more times, enthralled by the sound and the shape his lips made, and crawled into Keith’s bed. 

Keith sighed and wiggled but he made enough room for Lance, who snuggled into Keith’s back, nose buried behind one of Keith’s ears. 

“Once you’re sober again you’re sleeping in your own bed,” Keith warned. 

“Yup yup yup-pah!” Lance said. Then frowned and corrected himself. “No.” 

“Yes.” 

 

“No. Nope.” Hey, that was another p-sound! “Nope, nope, nope nope nope.” 

Keith groaned, grabbing his pillow and pressing it over his head. Lance didn’t mind, he just shifted so that he was under the pillow too. 

Keith was fun. 

Even if he was grumpy. 

\--------------------------------------------  



	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> CHAPTER REUPLOADED. I screwed something up.
> 
> So, I did promise smut this chapter. I hope people aren’t disappointed, since it’s not the main pairings.
> 
> This is also when Lance first encounters people who see Pets as sex objects. If you’re sensitive to such subjects, be careful when reading from here on.
> 
>  
> 
> New Tags for this chapter: Pining!Keith, Jealous!Keith, Voyeurism

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Cut scene from last chapter:
> 
>  
> 
> Lance had discovered the spots of thicker skin at the ball of his foot and under each toe. He poked at them, muttering under his breath.
> 
> “Piddy pads,” he’d say, over and over. “Piddy peet paws. Peet pads.”
> 
> “Shiro,” Keith said eventually.
> 
> “Just let him be,” Shiro said, a smile in his voice. “He’ll move on to something else eventually.”
> 
> “He’s been at it for a varga,” Keith stressed, lips pulled back in a grimace.
> 
> Before Shiro could respond, Keith felt a tap on his knee. He looked down to see Lance had slid across the floor and was leaning against his knee, staring up at his left eyebrow with focused intensity.
> 
> “…Yeah?” Keith asked, wary.
> 
> Lance’s face split into a wide grin. He pointed up at Keith’s own face triumphantly. “I saw Keef teef,” he announced. “Teef Keef, Keef has teef.”
> 
> “I’m going to my room,” Keith said, standing up.
> 
> “Noooo,” Lance wailed. “Keef don’t leef!”

“So, I hear you got yourself another Pet,” a voice broke into Shiro’s thoughts. He looked up from his monitor in surprise and smiled at the owner of the voice.

“Nathan,” he said, surprised and pleased. He stood and gave the other man a peck on the cheek, Nathan reached out to squeeze his hand in response. “What are you doing here?”

Nathan was another member of the Garrison, but his own station was in another section of the district. For him to surprise Shiro at work like that meant Nathan had to have taken time off from work.

“I’ve been transferred to a different shift,” Nathan said, shrugging. “I’ve just gotten off, actually, and knew you’d be finishing up soon. I thought I’d swing by and see how you were doing.”

“I’m doing great, to be honest. Just let me finish up this report and we can grab something together, if you want.”

“Sure,” Nathan said, letting Shiro go and parking himself on the edge of Shiro’s desk as the dark-haired man typed quickly. “So, what’s this I’m hearing about another Pet you got?”

Shiro smiled, glancing up at him. “Lance. Yeah. I got him so he’d keep Keith company.”

“You got your first Pet a Pet?” Nathan asked, baffled.

“Not quite,” Shiro chuckled.

Nathan shrugged and dropped it. “So, what’s this Lance like? What does he do for you?”

“Not much right now,” Shiro said, a little distracted as he peered into his monitor. “I’m still waiting for him to shake off the last of the stuff the Institute had him on before I give him any chores.”

“So, since you’ve got Lance now, when are you going to let me borrow Keith?” Nathan asked with a grin.

Shiro looked at Nathan, unimpressed. “Anything Keith could do for you, you can do yourself. If you want a Pet so badly you can buy your own.”

“Not everyone can afford one, you know,” Nathan said defensively. “Let alone two.”

Shiro snorted and began to power down his work station. “Stop wasting all your credits on alcohol and gaming and you’d be able to afford one in a pheeb.”

Nathan leaned against Shiro’s desk and grinned at him. “Or, my wonderful boyfriend can just let me borrow his Pet and I don’t have to.”

Shiro frowned at him, standing up. “Nathan, please. No.”

Nathan sighed and put his hands up in surrender. “Fine, fine. I’ll stop bugging you about him. Anyway,” he continued, as the two of them left the office. “Are you up for grabbing dinner together, or do you want to make plans for another time?”

“Tonight’s good,” Shiro said, smiling. “Is my place fine? I’ll just ask Keith to make enough for one more.” At Nathan’s nod, Shiro pulled out his phone and fired off a quick text to Keith. His Pet didn’t have a phone, but either the vid screen or Keith’s tablet would display the message, depending on which one was being used at the time.

***

Back at Shiro’s quarters, Lance, who was watching a vid drama, heard a ping coming from Keith’s direction. Despite feeling on the verge of falling asleep, he managed to look over just in time to see Keith make a face at his tablet.

It was another long quiet stretch of vargas as Shiro was at work, something Lance was starting to think was the norm, rather than the exception. For the most part Keith would quietly read, though every day Keith would tidy the living areas, do laundry or dishes, and, most amazingly, even cook their dinner at the end of their waking period. The previous quintent Keith and Shiro discussed supplies they needed, and Shiro agreed to take both Pets on a supply run soon, but he’d slid over his credit chip in case Keith needed to order a delivery while he was gone.

Overall, everything was very calm, and very boring.

It put Lance on edge.

Shiro was too good to be true. He didn’t demand anything from Lance, not to behave in certain ways, not to do anything. He worried that at any moment Shiro would drag Lance to his room, or force Lance to his knees and… well, Lance refused to think about what would be next. Everybody knew what people used Pets for, it was just a matter of time before Shiro would do it to Lance.

Lance thought about asking Keith about it, if Shiro ever raped him. He couldn’t figure out how, though – he tried to mentally rehearse how he’d ask him, but his damn brain was still to fuzzy to memorize a speech for long.

“What’s up?” He asked Keith when the other Pet got up and headed to the kitchen. Lance followed him, watching while slumped against the wall as Keith knelt to dig through the waist-high fridge (and wasn’t that a surprise every time Lance saw it – an actual refrigeration unit in someone’s quarters).

“Shiro’s bringing Nathan back today,” Keith said, and Lance’s ears twitched at his tone. Was Keith upset about that? There was certainly a bitter note in his voice, when he said Nathan’s name. “I need to make more for dinner.”

“And Nathan is…?” Lance probed. He watched, amused, as one of Keith’s long ears ticked back while the other one tilted towards Lance. Keith’s ears were a lot more emotive than his face, Lance was learning. As far as he could tell, that position meant ‘I’m not happy, but not at you.’ Even his tail, much smaller than Lance’s but just as uncontrollable, flicked with his annoyance.

“Shiro’s boyfriend,” Keith said, retreating from the fridge with his spoils and setting out a pot of water to boil.

“I didn’t know he had a boyfriend,” Lance said, finally.

Keith shrugged, starting to dice up garlic and shallot. “He doesn’t come by that often. He and Shiro work different shifts.”

“And that’s… good?” Lance questioned.

“He’s annoying,” Keith said, voice flat as he put the garlic and shallots in an oiled pan.

Lance must have faded out staring at Keith cook, because the next thing he knew there was pasta boiling on the stove, the kitchen was smelling fragrant, and the pan was full of a creamy white sauce with bright red tomatoes scattered inside. Keith was getting out a cooking sheet with slices of toasted bread out of the oven.

Lance shook his head, frustrated with himself. Cooking was freaking magic, and the fact that he missed most of Keith’s cooking was annoying enough to make his own tail tick against the floor.

“So, what’s this guy do that’s so annoying?” Lance said, trying to pick up the thread of conversation again. He wasn’t sure how comfortable he was with this guy if Keith so obviously didn’t like him. Sure, Keith wasn’t the most people-person Lance had ever met, but Keith’s disdain for this Nathan guy was palpable.

Keith looked over at Lance, apparently surprise Lance was ‘back’ so quickly after blanking out. Lance tried to tell himself that at least the periods of missing time were getting shorter – he’d been missing entire vargas when Shiro first bought him.

“He’s… handsy,” Keith admitted finally, hesitant. “I don’t like it.”

Lance suppressed a shudder. Okay, yeah, there it was. Lance was finally going to meet someone who actually treated him like a Pet, it seemed. And it was Shiro’s boyfriend. Did that mean that Shiro would get ‘handsy’ too, when this Nathan was over?

The front door’s security code beeped, and both Lance and Keith paused at the sound of two sets of feet entering.

“Keith? Lance?” Shiro’s voice rang out. “I’m back.”

“Just finishing up in here,” Keith called back, grabbing the pot of boiling pasta and straining it into the sink.

“Good timing,” Shiro said, entering the kitchen with another man at his heels. He was wearing the same grey Garrison uniform Shiro was, but he had his jacket off and folded over his arms. He had the same solid build Shiro did, though he was a little broader, thicker around the middle with heavy muscle.

The guy (Nathan?), looked at Lance and grinned. Lance felt his own ears flick back, but he just crossed his arms and leaned back against the wall, trying to project an aura of casualness. Judging by the laughing edge Nathan’s smile curved into, he didn’t fool him one bit.

Keith and Shiro were talking about something next to them, probably about Shiro’s shift at work or the meal, but neither Lance nor Nathan paid them any attention. Instead, Nathan just stepped closer to Lance, dropping his voice into something softer, more intimate.

“You must be Lance,” Nathan said, reaching out to caress the area around one of Lance’s pointed ears. Lance flinched away minutely, then forced himself to remain still, though his heart was pounding out a heavy beat in his chest. That was what he was waiting for, he realized with despair. People touching him without permission, without even asking. ‘Handsy,’ indeed.

“And you’re Nathan,” Lance said, forcing his voice to stay steady. “Keith told me all about you.”

“Oh?” Nathan hummed, trailing his fingers down the length of Lance’s jaw, thumb tracing the stripe that arced across Lance’s cheek. Lance’s stomach lurched. “Good things, I hope.”

“Nathan,” Shiro’s voice cut in, making Lance startle back and away from Nathan’s touch. They both looked at Shiro, who was looking at Nathan with an unimpressed, flat look. Nathan just chuckled and let his hand drop.

“I’m just introducing myself to your new Pet, Shiro,” Nathan said, backing away. “No need to get all possessive.”

“Give him some space for now,” Shiro said, serving himself dinner from the stove. “He’s still not feeling well, he’s not ready for you to tease him like that.”

“Sorry, Lance,” Nathan said, taking a plate and fork. “I don’t mean anything by it, I shouldn’t have messed with you right off the bat like that.”

“It’s fine,” Lance muttered, rubbing his jaw where Nathan had touched him.

“That’s good, I don’t want us getting off on the wrong foot,” Nathan said, then turned towards the meal. His grin took a sour note as he looked down at the sauce.

“Everything okay?” Keith asked. Lance shot him a look, but Keith was watching Nathan. There was something in Keith’s voice that Lance couldn’t quite translate.

Nathan just smiled at Keith and tweaked his ear, making the Pet twist his head out of the way. “Nah, everything’s fine, Keith. I wish I could cook as well as you can.” He started to serve himself, but as Lance watched Nathan very carefully made sure he didn’t get any tomatoes on his own plate. “You know, I keep asking Shiro if he could let me borrow you, just for a few quintents. I’d eat better than I have in pheebs.”

“Is that so,” Keith said, stepping up to the oven to fill another plate as Nathan took a seat across from Shiro at the table.

“Yep, but your Owner is pretty possessive. Though with Lance around, maybe he’ll loosen your leash some.”

“I’m not planning on it,” Shiro laughed, though it was tight. “Nathan, we talked about this.”

Keith handed Lance the plate he was filling, and Lance tried not to feel too incompetent. With the last vestiges of the drug draining from his system, he was shaky and they’d already learned that while Lance could carry a plate with little issue, actually serving himself required a bit more coordination than he was capable of.

Shiro, to Lance’s surprise, preferred Keith and Lance to sit at the table like regular people. But with Nathan sitting across from Shiro, that meant the only two spots open were between them. He really didn’t want to sit next to Nathan, but he had no choice.

Gingerly, he set his plate down on the table and sat in the chair, sliding it slightly more towards Shiro and away from Nathan. Keith sat down a moment later, also closer to Shiro. Both Pets met each other’s eyes in understanding, and they both focused on their meal as Shiro and Nathan chatted.

After dinner, Keith excused himself to his room, claiming to be tired. Shiro bid him to sleep well, and Lance looked between Shiro and Nathan before standing up, himself.

“I think I’m going to bed, too,” Lance said. “You guys have a nice night.”

“We will,” Nathan said, grinning.

Lance just smiled weakly back before retreating to the room he and Keith shared, shuddering. Gross.

“What’s with that guy,” Lance said as soon as the door shut behind him. Keith had just finished changing into a pair of soft pants and tank top to sleep in, Lance just catching a glimpse of pale skin at his lower back before it faded into the soft black fur of his tail. Lance felt an urge to tweak that tail, but considering how creeped out he was by Nathan he restrained the urge, instead falling back into the single-sleeper bed Shiro had bought him early on.

“He’s been wanting to borrow me for a while,” Keith said, shrugging and slumping back in his own bed, tablet in hand. “Shiro doesn’t want him to.”

“And now he’s creeping on me,” Lance said, shuddering theatrically. Inside, though, he felt a ball of worry settle into his belly. He felt sick, but he told himself that he expected that response, sooner or later.

Keith looked over at Lance. The feline was laying back in his bed, staring up at the ceiling, worrying his bottom lip in his teeth. Keith let out a breath, and lowered his tablet. “Shiro won’t let him get away with anything,” Keith said, voice soft. “He’s annoying, but he’s harmless.”

Lance snorted wetly. Keith blinked when he realized that Lance’s eyes were shining in the near-darkness of the bedroom. “Sure,” Lance said. “Harmless.”

“He’s as bad as I’ve seen,” Keith tried reassuring Lance. “None of Shiro’s other friends try touching me or anything. They respect Shiro too much to mess with his property, and-“

“Keith,” Lance cut in. “You’re really not helping.”

“Oh,” Keith said. “Sorry.”

Lance turned away so that he was facing the wall, flipping his tail up so that it was curled in front of him.

Keith watched him from the other side of the room, wanting to say something but unsure what. Eventually he turned back to his tablet with a sigh.

___

Keith’s ear twitched some time later, and he carefully lowered his tablet to the bed.

He looked over at Lance, scanning him with eyes and ears but the feline was fast asleep. He let out a breath of relief –at least this way he wouldn’t have to come up with an excuse.

Slowly, careful not to let his bed creak and give him away, he stood up and padded to his door. He creaked it open, ears twitching to catch any hint that he was about to get found out.

Shiro’s door was closed, but Keith knew how far he could open it safely, how much he needed it open so he could see.

He held his breath as he cracked the door open, his face already burning, heart thumping with anticipation.

He didn’t always regret Nathan visiting, because then he could see Shiro like this.

Through the crack of the door Keith could see Shiro reclined on his bed, his torso bare as Nathan swept his hands down Shiro’s sides, mouthing at his neck. Shiro let out a noise when Nathan bit gently on the side of his neck, a bit like a gasp, a bit like a chuckle.

Shiro was gorgeous, the low lighting in the bedroom turning his pale skin gold. Nathan turned Shiro’s face towards his in a kiss, and Keith could hear the slick sounds of their mouths moving on each other’s, their gasps of breath, Shiro’s sigh as Nathan dragged a hand down the center of his body to cup Shiro between the legs that he let fall open.

Shiro tugged on Nathan’s shirt, and the other man backed off enough to slide it off, working at his belt afterwards while Shiro undid his own trousers. Keith bit back a gasp of his own when Shiro shucked off his trousers and underwear at once, Shiro giving his hard cock a stroke once, twice when he pulled it out.

Nathan leaned in close, blocking Keith’s view of Shiro for a moment to give Shiro a deep kiss, his hand coming up to cup one of Shiro’s pecs, his thumb flicking at the pebbled nub of his nipple. Shiro’s hands came around to run down the line of Nathan’s back, scraping down with his fingers hard enough to make Nathan hiss into Shiro’s mouth, his spine moving sinuously. Finally they rested on the loose waist of Nathan’s pants and slipped inside, cupping his ass.

Together they slid Nathan’s pants and underwear off, Nathan moving to straddle Shiro’s hips once his legs were free. Keith wanted to groan in frustration – in that position he could barely see Shiro, it wasn’t any good if he couldn’t see Shiro!

Shiro sat up, reaching down to grope at and spread the cheeks of Nathan’s ass, and then Nathan was reaching behind himself, fingers wet with something, and began to probe at his own hole.

Shiro and Nathan were talking, murmuring something to each other, but Keith didn’t care about what they were saying. His face was burning as he watched, breath coming hard enough that he slapped a hand over his mouth to try and muffle any noises that tried to break through. His heart was beating so hard he worried that Shiro and Nathan could hear it, hear him just on the other side of the door. Thankfully they were too wrapped up in each other, too busy shifting Nathan up and then slowly, carefully lowering him on Shiro’s cock to notice Keith watching them.

Keith shuddered, and let himself slip the hand that wasn’t clamped over his mouth under his shirt, slipping beneath the waistband of his pajama pants to where he ached. His cock was hard and curving against his belly, trapped under his pants. Keith wasn’t brave enough to drop his pants, though he did lower the front, just enough to give him enough space to move, the cool air shocking against the heat of his dick.

His eyes were focused at the place where Shiro’s cock was disappearing inside Nathan’s body, and when the movement stopped being careful, stopped being slow and polite and started becoming smooth and easy, that’s when they shifted. They were tipping Nathan backwards, laying him down on the bed while Shiro shoved a pillow under his hips and it was better, it was so much better because now Shiro was facing Keith, Keith could see everything, he could see Shiro’s face, red with exertion, slack with pleasure, he could look down the column of his throat, follow the blush that bloomed across his chest, the cobbles of his belly, down to that most intimate piece of anatomy that was just different enough from Keith’s own to make it exotic, fascinating.

Keith shuddered as he ran his fingers up the length of his own cock, thumb digging into the hole there, squeezing out a drop of pre, then back down, the tips of his fingers skirting just under the sensitive lips of his sheath, enough to make his toes curl against the carpet.

Shiro’s hands were clutching Nathan’s hips hard enough that the muscles in his forearms were standing out in stark relief, but he let go with one hand to palm Nathan’s cock once, twice, then he licked his hand and started stroking the other man’s cock, matching his movements with the steady roll of his hips.

Keith stroked his own cock with every languid roll of Shiro’s hips, biting back any sounds his body wanted to make.

He didn’t know how long he stood there, huffing out breaths between his fingers as he watched Shiro fuck his boyfriend.

Finally, Shiro closed his eyes, shuddering and letting out a gasp like he was dying. Keith bit his fingers to keep himself from making any noise, himself, as he spilled over his fingers in his own orgasm, body quivering with the aftershocks. He stood, eyes closed and ignoring anything else coming from the room and feeling dirty and ashamed once he’d gotten off. There were more noises coming from the bedroom, but he ignored them now.

He pulled his pants back up with his clean hand, holding his filthy one away so that he wouldn’t get any of his come anywhere. He turned towards the bathroom and paused.

Lance was silently leaning in the doorway to their bedroom, a Cheshire grin on his face.

Keith’s heart kicked up again, but instead out of lust, it was terror and the shame of getting caught. Face burning, he ducked into the bathroom and washed his hands, using a wash cloth to clean off his sticky dick while he was at it. For a long moment he stared at his reflection in the mirror, only lit by the dim night light since he hadn’t bothered turning on the main lighting. His face was still red, though he couldn’t tell if it was from the lingering desire or from embarrassment or some mixture of both.

He felt sick. He never expected to get caught, he never wanted anyone to find out that he liked watching Shiro, let alone Lance.

He also couldn’t spend the entire night in the bathroom. He left the bathroom, glancing with eyes and ears towards Shiro’s room, but all he could hear were some faint murmurs that he didn’t want to listen closely enough to in order to make out what they were saying. They didn’t sound like they noticed the door was open or like they knew Keith had been watching, so he just continued across the hall into the room Lance and he shared. At least Lance wasn’t in the doorway anymore, and Keith had a moment of illogical hope that Lance had gone back to bed.

Lance was in bed, but he was sitting up against the wall, lounging with his arms crossed and legs splayed lazily. Keith ignored him and just bee-lined to his bed.

“So…” Lance said after Keith was back in bed, facing away from the other Pet and with his blanket pulled up to this jaw.

“Shut up,” Keith said, curling up tighter.

“Nope,” Lance said, humor coloring his voice. “See, I’m just really curious-“

“I’m not talking about it,” Keith said stubbornly. There were a couple steps, and then there was Lance on his bed, leaning into Keith’s back.

“Was it Shiro, or Nathan?” Lance asked. Keith looked back at Lance at that, incredulity written on his face. “Alright,” Lance said, putting his hands up. “Stupid question. Still, I gotta wonder if that’s like, a thing for you, or…”

“I said I’m not talking about it,” Keith bit out, glaring at his wall.

Lance shifted so that he was at the foot of the bed, back up against Keith’s wall and legs drawn up to his chest, the tip of his tail waving slowly back and forth.

“I guess I just don’t get you,” Lance said, and the soft, wondering tone in his voice made Keith glance at him. “Do you realize how lucky you are that your Owner doesn’t mess with you like Nathan does? That Shiro doesn’t let people like Nathan ‘borrow’ you?”

Keith sighed and turned over onto his back, sliding up the head of the bed so that he was facing Lance. “Why do you think I’m naïve, or that I don’t know what people do with their Pets?” Keith asked. “I do. I’ve heard the same jokes and seen the same vids you have. Shiro bought me as a kid and never touched me. Do you get that?” He asked softly, looking Lance in the eye as the other Pet looked serious and uncomfortable. “Shiro saved me. He saved me, and he’ll never touch me, and I just have to be okay with that because,” he cut himself off, looking to the side and blinking furiously to keep the tears that threatened to well up at bay.

They were both quiet for a long moment, the only sound their breathing. Eventually, Lance cleared his throat. “Do- do you want me to like, say something to Shiro, or-“

He cut himself off when Keith shook his head. “No,” Keith said. “I’m not going to… make him uncomfortable, or anything. I just,” Keith shrugged, blushing.

Lance chuckled. “You just creep on him real bad,” he said. He then sighed. “Okay, I won’t say anything. But, you know. If you ever want to talk about it, or anything. I’m here. You know he’s going to catch you some time, right?”

Keith nodded, grimacing. He knew, and he didn’t want to think about how Shiro would react. Most likely not positively. “Right,” he said. “Thanks. I’ll talk to you,” he said, having no intention to ever do so.

“Okay,” Lance said. He awkwardly patted Keith’s foot and pushed himself to his feet. Keith watched as Lance padded over to his bed, feeling oddly bereft.

They both curled back up in bed and were silent, not looking at each other. Keith thought Lance was asleep when he heard the other Pet say, voice soft. “For what it’s worth, Keith, I’m sorry you have to deal with this.”

“It’s alright,” Keith said, closing his eyes.

He lied.

***

“Wow, I’m bored,” Lance said, flinging himself back onto the couch.

Keith glared at him over his tablet. “Don’t break Shiro’s couch,” he said.

Lance just waved at him. “Yeah, yeah. But come on,” he whined. “How many vargas until Shiro gets back? I’m so tired of watching vid after vid every quintent.”

It was the next quintent after Lance caught Keith creeping on Shiro and Nathan in bed together, and Lance was honestly impressed with how normal Keith was being about the whole thing. Shiro and Nathan were late getting up and getting ready, both of them only having enough time to shove a ration bar down their throats before dashing off so they’d be at work in time, Shiro skipping his normal early-quintent workout with Keith. Lance had been actually joining them in their workout, though he’d been sticking to simple exercises while he was still shaky and watching the other two spar.

Keith didn’t even react – just bidding Shiro goodbye and settling into his chair. Lance watched the other Pet closely, but Keith didn’t even give any hint of what he saw last night. Nathan scruffed Keith’s hair obnoxiously on the way out, making Keith twist out of the way, but there wasn’t even a blush or an ear twitch to give away that the rabbit was pining after his Owner.

Something that still baffled Lance, but whatever.

Keith frowned at him, tilting his tablet towards Lance. “Did you want to read anything? I can find something else to do.”

Lance considered it for a hot tick, then tsked and shook his head. “Nah,” he said. “I just want to move. I want to get out of here.”

Keith glanced at the chronometer. “It’ll still be a few vargas until Shiro gets home,” he said. “But we can ask him to take us to the park or something.”

Lance sat up quickly enough to make Keith’s ears flick back, the feline leaning forward and eyes bright in excitement. “How about we go, just the two of us?” he suggested, grinning.

Keith’s eyebrows furrowed in confusion. “What do you mean, just the two of us? We can’t leave without Shiro.”

“Sure we can,” Lance said, jumping to his feet. “You know the security code, right? And Shiro gave you his credit chip, so we can pick up those groceries you guys were talking about the other day so he doesn’t have to worry about it.”

Keith shook his head, leaning back into his chair. “No, you don’t get it,” he said. “We can’t leave without Shiro. It’s against the law to be out without our caretaker.”

Lance grinned. “It’s only against the law if we get caught,” he said.

Keith made a face. “Is that the attitude that got you made a Pet in the first place?” he asked.

Lance’s face fell, his quick excited movements stilling. “That’s not funny,” he said.

Keith looked away, and Lance wanted to do the same. His heart clenched, hurt. He tried telling himself it wasn’t Keith’s fault that his comment hit home, Keith didn’t know why Lance became a Pet. Still, Lance couldn’t help but feel a little betrayed.

“Only for a varga or two,” Keith said, his unsure voice dragging Lance out of his head. “We need to be back before Shiro comes back home.”

Lance launched himself at Keith, wrapping his arms around his shoulders suddenly enough that Keith’s ears momentarily laid back flat against his skull, the skin thin enough they crumpled against the back of the chair. That made Lance realize a way they could get away with walking around without getting in trouble. “Hold on,” he said. “I have an idea.”

Lance darted into the bedroom they shared, digging through the pile of clothing Shiro had bought for him as soon as he was aware enough to make decisions for himself. He found his prize in a small ball shoved in with his socks and snatched it, returning to the living room and back to Keith. He was standing in front of his favorite chair, dusting off his pants. Lance presented his idea with pride, grinning when Keith took it from his hands.

“A hat?” Keith asked, turning the knit cap over in his hands.

“A hat,” Lance confirmed grinning. “Look, look.” He took the hat and slipped it over Keith’s head, pulling it low. It forced his ears down, and Lance took them and gently tucked them under the collar of Keith’s shirt, fluffing his hair so that it was on top of them. “Okay,” Lance continued, grabbing Keith’s hand and pulling him into the bathroom. “Now look,” he demanded, forcing Keith to stand in front of the mirror.

Lance looked at Keith with pride while Keith stared at his reflection with wide eyes. He looked like a regular human. With his ears hidden under his hat and shirt, his hair long and thick enough to cover the revealed length, nobody could tell that he was a Pet.

“Pull your pants up over your tail and boom, you’re my Owner,” Lance said. He continued on while Keith just stared at his reflection. “I mean, I would be the better choice, but, you know, my tail is just like impossible to hide. And the stripes, and the eyes, and the teeth… why did they change you so little? Did they just think you were cute enough with just the ears and tail? Why stop there when I am full cat-boy?”

“Let’s go,” Keith said, interrupting Lance’s rant. Lance just blinked at Keith in surprise when the rabbit left the bathroom.

“Um, sure,” Lance said, following him. By the time caught up, Keith had his shoes on and was slipping a black collar off the hook by the door, the control bracelet already on his wrist.

“Wait, do we really need that?” Lance balked, staring at the collar.

Keith nodded. “All Pets have to be collared when out in public spaces,” he said, his cadence sounding like he was quoting something or someone. Probably Shiro, Lance thought uncharitably.

Still, even while he grimaced he took the collar from Keith’s hand and fastened it around his own neck. He swallowed a couple times, feeling the pressure of the collar against his throat. For just a moment he had second thoughts. But then he looked up and saw that Keith actually looked eager, like he was actually on the verge of bouncing in place. So instead, Lance gave him a weak grin and slid his own shoes on.

“Ready to go?” Lance asked, trying his best to look casual. He told himself that it was his idea in the first place, no backing out now. And wow, that was a mindset that has worked out great for him.

Instead of answering, Keith unlocked the door and swung it open.

They both paused, suddenly nervous. They both looked out the door, Lance stretching on his tip-toes to look over Keith’s head up then down the halls. Empty.

“C’mon,” Keith said softly, leading the way out into the hall. Lance padded behind, falling into step as they entered the elevator and took it down to the main level.

Shiro’s quarters were located in a residential district, so there was nothing but long stretches of buildings in either direction, though it was a lot nicer than where Lance used to live. While his family’s quarters were crammed in and run down and bleak, the buildings that housed Garrison quarters were much nicer, cleaner, and there was artwork painted on the buildings and potted plants dotted along the main walkway.

Lance took a couple steps towards a train stop but realized quickly that Keith had paused, looking back and forth and looking a bit wild around the eyes.

“Are you… okay?” Lance asked, concerned.

“I’m fine,” Keith said. But he still had his back up against the wall of Shiro’s residential building, and he had one hand pressing down on his hat.

“Hey,” Lance said, leaning close. Thankfully there weren’t that many people nearby, but even so they weren’t attracting a whole lot of looks. “You’re alright, nobody can tell you’re a Pet.”

“It’s not that,” Keith gritted out.

“What’s wrong, then?” Lance asked, baffled.

Keith shut his eyes and took a deep breath. At the end of his exhale, he pushed himself off the building and started walking purposely towards the train.

“Okay…” Lance said. His collar gave a warning beep when Keith moved far enough away to trigger the distance alarm, so Lance trotted to catch up. “So, where we going?” he asked, walking next to Keith.

“The park,” Keith responded, eyes focused straight at the train.

“The park,” Lance echoed. He had so many questions… “Okay, so why are we going to this park?” He asked.

“It’s nice there,” Keith said. They reached the gates to the train and Keith tapped Shiro’s credit chip to let Lance go in ahead of him, tapping again to let himself in.

“Sure, okay,” Lance said. They both stood in silence, Keith fidgeting at Lance’s side. Lance eyed him up and down and leaned towards the disguised Pet, saying soft enough that the people around them wouldn’t hear, “You’re really warming up to this Owner role, telling me what we’re doing without telling me why.”

Keith shot Lance a glare, but it melted quickly, Keith twisting his mouth sourly. “Sorry,” he said. “It’s quiet there, and nice. I think you’d like it there. We can go somewhere else.”

Lance just nudged Keith with his shoulder. “Nah, it’s fine. I’ve never been to a park before.”

Keith shot Lance a look, but didn’t respond right away due to the train arriving. When they got a seat inside, Keith asked him, “Never? Why not?”

Lance shrugged, leaning back into the seat. “We didn’t have any on the other side of the station,” he said. “It would have been too expensive for us to travel to one.”

They were both silent for the rest of the train ride, watching out of the windows as they passed through the residential district, a business district, to a shopping district with their bright aggressively friendly signs. That’s where they got off, Keith leading the way.

Lance looked around in awe.

The shopping district where his family lived was just as busy, but the items for sale and the storefronts on this side was so much better. So many popular items he had seen on the other side of the station were more designed for productive use or for saving on credits. With Keith, he had to stop himself from stopping to stare at vid games, artwork for sale by the artist themselves, and so many different types of food for sale! There were entire stores dedicated just to different types of tea, little pouches in the display windows advertising various different Earth locations, and even some unique strands advertised grown on the station.

Even the walkways were different –the lower level they were walking on were clean white tiles stretched between storefronts, bright lights hanging from the buildings, warming up the constant diffused lighting of the station. There were comfortable seating areas in the middle where families or friends could sit with their purchases, though smaller seemingly pop-up food stands offered different snacks that people could buy.

One of those pop-up stands made Lance stop to just inhale the bready, sweet scent, something he’d never encountered before but awoke a deep hunger in his belly. He read the sign on the side of the stand – cinnamon rolls.

Keith took a turn, and that’s when Lance first caught sight of the park.

There were honest-to-goodness trees in front of him. They were in neat rows lining either side of the walkway, bushes and flowers at their bases. As they stepped into the park Lance couldn’t help but look around, knowing his mouth was agape but not even caring. He inhaled their scent, smelling the sweet scent of the flowers and a deep smell that was surprisingly not altogether different from the cinnamon rolls, something earthy he realized. He looked up and saw that the trees branches were so close together that they were touching above the walkway.

He heard a giggling. He looked up to see that a little way down the path there was a big stretch of grass right off the walkway that children were running and playing on. He had an instinctual urge to tell them to stop running all over the grass, to warn them that they were damaging it, but logic took over and said that if they weren’t allowed to play on the grass then it’d be fenced off and protected.

“Do you like it?” a voice broke into his thoughts.

Lance looked at Keith to see him watching Lance, a satisfied smile on his face.

“This is great!” Lance laughed, looking around. “The last time I saw so many plants I was passing through farm districts.”

“Glad you like it,” Keith said. “Come on, I know a good spot. First, I want to get you something.”

Curious, Lance followed Keith to one of those pop-up food stands. He stood back like a good Pet while Keith talked with the woman running the stand, and after Keith tapped the credit chip she opened the top of the waist-high stand, releasing steam into the air. She passed first one, then a second lumpy thing that she scooped from the inside over to Keith.

Keith brought both things over to Lance and handed him a pink one by the cone-shaped bottom, holding his own weirdly green one.

“Ice cream,” Keith explained, licking the side of his treat in demonstration.

Tentatively, Lance gave his own an experimental lick. “It’s cold!” he said, surprised.

“Ice cream,” Keith repeated, licking his own again.

Wary of the cold, Lance gave his own ice cream another lick, managing to scoop some with his tongue. It was good – sweet and creamy.

“Eat it quick,” Keith advised, heading back down the path. “Or it’ll melt all over your hands. The cone is edible, too.”

Keith led him down the walkway some more, but at one point he started walking between the trees. Lance hesitate at first, but noticed that there was a parting in the greenery where there was bared earth, a narrow path disappearing off into the trees. Not far, he realized. The path led to a small clearing with a little pond complete with waterfall, a bench set up for people to enjoy the sound of water in silence.

And it was nearly silent, Lance noticed as he and Keith both took a seat at the bench, crunching the last of their cones, sticky melted ice cream on his hands. The trees managed to keep the noise from the shopping district down. Every now and then the sound of the train passing managed to rumble through, but for the most part it was serene, quiet, and beautiful.

Still, Lance’s happy expression began to melt into a frown.

Keith, who was stretched out on the bench and had his eyes closed in serene delight, finally noticed Lance’s unusual lassitude.

“What’s wrong?” he asked.

Lance shrugged, looking around. “It’s nice,” he said. “But I can’t help but wonder… can you imagine how much food people can grow here?”

***

Shiro frowned at his phone when it pinged at him. He had his credit account set up to alert him when and where his chip was used to make a purchase. He expected to see that Keith had used it for a delivery since they were low on a couple things, but the location was the train station right outside his residential building.

Curious, he pulled up the app on his phone that was paired to his two Pet’s collars to check their locations. Interestingly enough, Keith’s was at Shiro’s quarters, but Lance’s was on the move.

Shiro pulled up Keith’s tablet on his phone and fired off a quick message, just a simple, ’Hey, Keith, everything okay at home?’ It would show up somewhere Keith or Lance could see or respond, but only if both Pets were at home.

He waited a couple minutes, but there was no response from either Pet.

“Damn it,” he grumbled, standing up from his desk. “What are you two doing?”

Thankfully, it was time for his lunch. Unfortunately, he would probably end up spending the entirety of his allotted break period chasing down his wayward Pets, but he felt the need to herd them back home before they got themselves in trouble.

He had the briefest urge to alert the Garrison police about his runaways, but dismissed it almost instantly. There was a chance the police would be… unkind, and he didn’t want to risk it until he figured out why they’d left his quarters without him.

By the time he got on a train the indicator for Lance’s collar had gotten off theirs, apparently at the shopping district nearby. Thankfully he was closer than his quarters were, so he was able to get to the district in plenty of time.

When he realized where his two Pets were headed, he had to sigh. Keith was pretty predictable, once you got to know him.

He headed right to the park at a brisk pace. He figured they’d be at the park a while – Keith liked to linger whenever they were there – but he didn’t want to risk anything. He didn’t even have to look at his phone for their exact location, knowing Keith, there would have been one thing he wanted to show Lance.

He had to stop when he found them, stunned.

He almost didn’t recognize Keith. They were sitting facing away from the path next to each other on the bench. Lance was wearing the casual clothes Shiro helped him pick out, licking the last dredges of ice cream from his fingers, but Keith…

Keith looked human.

Shiro at first wondered at where Keith’s ears had gone, but realized that they were tucked under the hat Lance had picked out. Shiro didn’t realize just how much those ears effected how he looked, and with them hidden away Keith could have been any young man enjoying a quiet moment at the park. He didn’t look like the Keith he knew, and it was… jarring.

He shook his head to clear it. He had a job to do.

He crept down the path towards the two, feet silent on the earth. He held his breath as he approached. Right when one of Lance’s ears flicked back he put a hand down on Lance and Keith’s outside shoulders and leaned in to say in a dark tone, “What are you two doing?”

The sound of two guilty yelps was like music to his ears.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, when I started this chapter I told myself, “Hey, if I keep up my average for this fic and post a 5k chapter, then by the end of next chapter it’d be officially the longest fic I’ve ever written!” *looks at word count* Um, yeah. This is a long one.
> 
> Also, you may have noticed I have an official chapter count. I have pretty much settled my story outline, and it looks like there’s going to be officially 12 chapters. Things may change, but that’s the goal.
> 
> By the way, I’m nearing the end of what I’ve got pre-written. That, combined with the fact that I won’t have computer access for most of this week means that the next chapter might be a week or two, but after that I am gunning for a chapter a week. I mostly just wanted to get this one out before the new season. I’m so excited/worried!


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was probably the most difficult chapter to write, mostly because from here on I actually start introducing a plot! And characters actually talking about things! That are important! And maybe a little angsty porn! 
> 
> Speaking of, I do want to reiterate that the endgame for this fic is to have Keith, Lance, and Shiro together as equals. It’s going to be difficult going to get there. 
> 
> **New tags as of this chapter: Agoraphobia, mating cycles: in heat**. If you feel that I need additional tags, please let me know.
> 
> This is a rough one.

Shiro took a seat on the bench next to Keith, unable to take his eyes away from the young man. With Lance’s hat covering up where a regular human’s ears would be, Keith could have been just another young man enjoying a day at the park. For the first time since Shiro had laid eyes on him, Keith didn’t look like a Pet. It was jarring. It made Shiro feel… complex. 

He shook his head. He only had a limited amount of time before he had to be back at the Garrison, he could examine his thoughts later. 

“What are you two doing here?” he asked. He leaned back on the bench, stretching his arm along the back, trying to project curiosity and not anger. He didn’t want the other two to think that he was mad at them (though he was a little irritated – didn’t they know what sort of trouble they could be in if the Garrison police caught them?), but he was really curious about what possessed them to actually leave Shiro’s quarters. 

“It was my fault,” Lance said quickly, hands fidgeting, picking under his clawed nails in his lap. “I talked Keith into it, don’t get mad at him.” 

“No,” Keith cut in, shaking his head. “I could have said no, but I wanted to leave. I wanted to show Lance the park. It’s my fault, too.”

“Oh, come on,” Lance said, switching his attention to Keith. “Which one of us had the idea to hide your ears? We wouldn’t have even got out of the apartment if it wasn’t for me.” 

“You needed my codes to let you in,” Keith argued, turning to face Lance. “I could have let you go by yourself and you would have been stuck outside for anybody to catch you.” 

“But I-“ Lance started. 

“Lance, Keith,” Shiro broke in. “I can’t tell if you guys are arguing over who deserves to get in trouble or who would have gotten away with it better.” He looked between the two of them until they settled back, both refusing to look at him. He sighed. “I’m not mad,” he soothed, catching both young men glancing sideways at him. “I just want to know why you two didn’t wait for me. You both know that if either of you wanted to leave my quarters you could have just asked me.” 

“I didn’t _want_ to ask!” Lance said, his voice loud and unexpected. Lance’s hands were clenched into fists on his knees, shoulders drawn up as he glared at Shiro. “I didn’t want to ask for your permission,” he said, voice quieter but no less intense. “I wanted to leave those stuffy rooms whenever I want. I don’t want to worry about what people want from me. I don’t want to be _this_ anymore.” He tugged on one ear in demonstration, hard enough Shiro’s hand twitched with wanting to stop him from damaging the delicate tissue. 

Lance looked up at Shiro and Keith, and Shiro’s chest clenched at seeing how shiny Lance’s eyes were, even though his face was furious. “You guys don’t get it, do you?” Lance asked, voice rough. “Keith, you were practically born like this, but I wasn’t. My family couldn’t afford to eat like you do – fresh fruit was something we got for a holiday or our birthdays, and you guys have freaking meals every day. You can just go for a walk in a park.”

“You know why I became a Pet?” Lance asked, leaning forward aggressively enough to make Keith stiffen, uncomfortable being between Lance and Shiro, the target of Lance’s sudden ire. “My mom lost her job,” Lance spat. “And we were starting to fall in The Hole. She couldn’t find anything to replace her old job – she was too old to learn a new skill, apparently, and everybody else wanted someone younger or more skilled. Sooner or later, my parents would have been arrested as debtors and sent to the Institute anyway – they were already sending us flyers. And if me and my sister couldn’t get a job to make up for our parents, then the Garrison would probably take away our younger siblings. I became a Pet so that the rest of my family wouldn’t have to.” Lance blinked, sending salty tears rolling down his cheeks. “So forgive me for wanting just one day where I could leave that place and just get some fucking air.” 

“Don’t you-“ Keith started, incensed, but cut himself off at Shiro’s hand on his shoulders. 

“It’s alright, Keith,” Shiro said. He and Lance looked at each other for a long moment before Shiro asked, “Is the window still broken at the market along D-building?” 

“What?” Lance bit out, confused and irritated. 

“A friend of mine and I were playing over there,” Shiro continued as if Lance hadn’t spoken. “He was showing off how far he could pitch during gym at school, and I dared him to try and toss it over the building. He ended up hitting the window and breaking it. We both ran away like our heads were on fire,” Shiro chuckled. “But we didn’t tell anyone – neither of our families could afford to replace it. Apparently neither could the market, it was still broken when I joined the Garrison.”

“What’s your point?” Lance asked. 

“I grew up over there,” Shiro replied, jerking his head up to indicate the other side of the station. “I know what it’s like to eat the same rations day in and day out, to worry constantly about being in The Hole, to live on top of your neighbors. It’s why I joined the Garrison. I lucked out – apparently, I’m a good pilot and my students do well, so I got promoted pretty quickly. But I remember where I came from, and I don’t have a day go by where I take the advantages I have for granted.” 

“You still don’t understand,” Lance shook his head, frustrated. 

“No,” Shiro agreed. “I don’t. I don’t know what it’s like to be as desperate as you were to sell yourself for your family, I don’t know what it’s like to become a Pet. I don’t know what it’s like to be _you_ right now. But, Lance, I would like to know what I can do to make things easier for you. If you need anything, or want anything, or if you want to just say anything to me, let me know. I’m not going to get mad.” 

“What if I want to leave? Just go for a walk whenever I want?” Lance asked, defiant. 

Shiro sighed, his mouth twisting wryly. “Unfortunately, I can’t change the law. If someone sees you walking around without an Owner present, you can get in a lot of trouble. But,” he added, looking at Keith. “If Keith wants to go with you, like this, I won’t stop you. But if Keith doesn’t want to go, all I ask is for you to wait for me to get back.”

“And if I leave without either of you?” Lance asked, stubborn. 

“Maybe nothing will happen, if you avoid people,” Shiro said. “If you get caught, you’d be sent to a temporary holding facility. There, they’ll keep you until they’ve determined you’ve been ‘rehabilitated,’ and won’t be a flight risk again. If you’re a repeat offender, you’ll be placed back into a pod and they will physically alter your brain to make you more obedient.”

“How could they do that?” Keith asked, horrified. 

“When a person becomes a Pet they’re no longer a citizen,” Shiro explained softly. He thought Keith knew. “So any protections they might have don’t apply. Right now you’re both considered my property, and station law says that even someone’s personal property can be confiscated if it’s found to be a danger to the station. That you’d even be returned to me afterwards is considered a courtesy.”

“It’ll still be dangerous to leave without me,” Shiro continued, seeing the expressions on the faces of both Lance and Keith. “But I trust you two to be careful and not to do anything to draw attention to yourselves. Can you both agree to do that for me?” 

Lance nodded instantly, and Keith was just a breath or two behind. 

“Thank you,” Shiro said, sincerely. He looked at the chronometer on his phone and made a face. “And I need to get back now. Will you two be alright if I head out now?” 

“Yeah,” Keith said, glancing at Lance. “You?” 

“Yeah,” Lance said, quiet and not looking at either of the other two. 

“Are you sure?” Shiro asked, focused on Keith. “I can walk you two back if you need me to.” 

Keith swallowed and nodded. He got to the park okay, he’d be able to get back. 

Shiro hesitated before standing up, giving Lance time to say something, since he seemed like he still had something on his mind. With one last pat on Keith’s shoulder, he turned and walked away. 

“Shiro,” Lance’s voice made him pause, and he looked back to see Lance looking over his shoulder at him. “I’m still not really… happy with what’s going on,” Lance said. “But I’m sorry for going off on you. All of this,” he gestured towards himself, indicating his ears and eyes. “None of it was your fault. So… sorry.” 

Shiro smiled and shook his head. “Don’t apologize to me, Lance,” he said. “I can’t change the law, but at least I can do what I can to make things better for the both of you. Let me know when you two get home, please.” 

The two Pets sat on the bench in silence for a couple minutes, the only sounds coming from the small waterfall at the pond and the carrying noises people having fun elsewhere in the park. 

Keith looked over at Lance and shifted, unsure about what to say. He wasn’t… good with people, he knew. He didn’t have a whole lot of experience dealing with them just on a day-to-day basis, let alone helping with other people’s emotions. And Lance’s were… complicated. He just figured Lance was having issues with his role as a Pet and how regular humans would treat him, he didn’t know that there was a lot more going on in the feline’s head. 

Keith had been a Pet for years, ever since he was a kid. His memories of being a regular human were faded, and he was a child when he became a Pet, besides. The fact that he couldn’t leave Shiro’s quarters without him didn’t even faze him – in fact, it was almost comforting. He wouldn’t have to risk running into anybody who might want something from him without Shiro being right there to tell them to back off. Plus, he didn’t have any family to worry about – his were gone. He missed his dad, sure, though his mom died before he really was able to really make any memories about her. Lance had a family, a large one, it seemed. It only made sense for him to worry about them, he guessed. 

“Are you… okay?” He asked, hunched in and wary about Lance’s response. If he went off on Keith like he did to Shiro, Keith wasn’t sure how he’d react. Poorly, he guessed. 

Lance, however, just let out a breath and ran a hand through his hair, tugging on the ear he’d grabbed earlier. Keith assumed it might be sore. “Yeah,” he said, not looking at Keith. “I’ll be fine. I didn’t mean to lose it just then.” 

“It’s okay,” Keith said, but Lance was shaking his head before the words were out of his mouth. 

“Not really. I really shouldn’t be yelling at Shiro, any other Owner would probably have beat me for just half of what I said,” Lance said with a morbid chuckle. 

“That’s really not funny,” Keith said. 

“I know,” Lance replied. 

They both sat and listened to the water in the pond for a while, just letting the relative tranquility of the park calm their nerves. Eventually Keith began to shift, glancing behind them towards the path that led out of the clearing. They’d been lucky that nobody else had come to enjoy the pond, and Keith didn’t want to risk anyone intruding on them. 

“Are you wanting to leave?” Lance said, his voice startling Keith into looking back at the other Pet. Lance was actually looking back at him, though his demeanor was still withdrawn, shoulders hunched and hands clasped. 

“Yeah,” Keith admitted. “But if you – we don’t have to go back yet.” 

Lance shrugged. “Up to you,” he said. He tugged at his collar. “You’re the one that has my tether.” 

Keith glanced at the control bracelet still around his wrist and rose to his feet. “Let’s go,” he prompted. “I’ll make-“ he cut himself off. He was about to offer to make Lance something nice for dinner when they got back, but he was abruptly reminded about Lance’s outburst on Keith’s cooking every day. Maybe Lance wouldn’t enjoy it if Keith made him something special, would instead think it was Keith rubbing in the comparable wealth he and Shiro lived in? 

Lance didn’t seem to notice what Keith was about to say, instead standing up, tail held low and ticking against the ground rather than in what became its usual, more upright position. Keith led the way out of the clearing and through the park. Lance didn’t seem as enthralled by the park as he was before, eyes on the path ahead rather than the trees on either side of him, though Keith could swear he could see Lance’s nose twitch. He couldn’t blame the feline, the heady smells of the plants and flowers were difficult to ignore. 

Keith’s own steps faltered as they approached the shopping district, though. During the varga or so they’d been in the park a working period must have ended because the number of people in the district had exploded. There were people moving around everywhere he looked, shopping, talking, eating. None of them were looking at him, but he knew that if it weren’t for the fact that his ears were pinned down they’d be laid flat against his skull. 

His ears. 

He reached back, patting the nape of his neck to check that his ears were still covered. He tugged on his shirt, just making sure that his ears were well-hidden. 

“Are you okay?” Lance asked. Keith cut his gaze to the side to see Lance watching him, brows furrowed. “You’re just… really pale all of a sudden.” 

“I’m fine,” Keith bit out, watching the crowd once more. With the increase in crowds came an increase in security, so Keith could see more of the Garrison police around. After what Shiro warmed them about, Keith vowed to stay from them as he could. “I just… don’t like crowds.” 

“I can tell,” Lance said, slow. He took a step to the side, closer to Keith, and gently rested a hand on Keith’s arm. “Do you want to wait until the crowds clear up?” 

Keith shook his head, hard. “No, I’ll be fine.” 

“Sure,” Lance said, though he didn’t seem to believe him. “But did you want to wait anyway, or..?” 

“Let’s just go,” Keith said, stepping forward. He just focused on where he needed to go and did his best to block out everyone else, just ignored the almost tangible sensation of too many people too close. Lance at his back was a comfort he didn’t expect, but a part of him registered that at least a strange person wouldn’t get near him that way. He still didn’t know Lance that well, but at least he was mostly familiar. 

They managed to get to the train station without much hassle, but had to wait for the next one to arrive. Keith shifted them closer to a wall, where the solid surface made him at least a little more comfortable. Lance stood still behind him, the picture of a well-behaved Pet. Though, Keith noticed, not all Pets were standing with their Owners. As he looked around he noticed a handful of other Pets waiting at the station, some standing, like Lance, but most of them were kneeling on the station floor with their Owners. He tried not to stare at one woman who was ruffling the hair of her Pet while she browsed her phone with her other hand. The female Pet, who looked to be some sort of weasel with rounded ears and black and white hair, didn’t react and just stared blankly at the floor in front of her. 

Shiro didn’t make Keith kneel in all the time he Owned him. Some Owners did, while others didn’t, it boiled down to the preference of the Owner. Keith never really realized how debasing it was, how lowly it make Pets look. Was that what people wanted to see? A Pet at their Owner’s feet, quiet and servile? Was that what Lance expected from Shiro all this time? 

“Just as a pro tip,” a voice at Keith’s side made him jump. He looked next to him to see a human standing beside him, having snuck up while Keith wasn’t paying attention, just calmly sipping on a cup of something while looking straight ahead at the empty platform. They were short, the type of shortness that made it difficult to tell their age, and was wearing baggy clothes and glasses. “If you want to hide your ears,” they continued. “Wear a thicker shirt or some layers. You back looks weirdly lumpy.” 

Keith could feel his heart start beating even faster, and could sense Lance tense up behind him. Keith’s hands curled into fists, ready to defend himself if he had to, though they glanced down at his fists and snorted, smiling up at Keith. 

“Relax,” they said. “I’m not going to hurt you, or get you in trouble for running away without your Owners or whatever. If you want to, follow me. I can probably help you.” 

They turned to walk away from the platform, but before they could take more than a couple steps Keith reached out to grasp their shoulder, stopping them in their tracks. They simply turned to heat, giving his hand an unimpressed look before raising an eyebrow at Keith. 

“How do I know you’re not going to lead us right to a Garrison officer?” Keith asked, voice hushed. 

They shrugged. “You don’t,” they said, turning to face them. Keith let his hand slide off their shoulder at the movement. “And it’s probably smarter to not trust me. You don’t even know me. But I can probably help you out, or at least keep you from getting caught. Don’t worry,” they said, their gaze softening. “I just want to talk, but it’s up to you whether or not you want to risk it.” 

Keith turned to face Lance, who was standing with his arms crossed, looking unsure. Right at that moment the train roared into the station, making Lance’s ears flatten and their clothes shift with the air displacement. As people surged forward to get on the train, Keith tried to nonverbally ask Lance if he wanted to trust the stranger, gesturing at them with a shake of the head and a raised eyebrow. Lance’s mouth thinned, but then nodded – it was worth checking out, if only out of pure curiosity, but don’t trust them entirely. 

“Okay,” Keith said, turning back to them. “You’ve got a varga, then we’re leaving.” 

They smiled at him, adjusting their glasses. “A varga’s all I need,” they said. “Please, follow me. By the way, call me Pidge.”

_*_*_

They lead Keith and Lance back to the shopping district and into a small electronics store. Lance seemed to want to look around, craning his head to look at the different sights even as he followed on Keith’s heels, but Pidge just kept walking even through a door marked ‘Employees Only.’ The two young men looked at each other before following, unsure. Keith glanced at the employee on the floor, but she was ignoring all three of them.

The room was just a small store room, neat lines filled with packaged product taking up most of the space along with extra shelving units and display cases. Up against one wall was a low table with scattered parts on it, and sitting at the table was a bear of a man. 

Literally, the man was a bear-based Pet. Tall and solidly built, the guy towered over Pidge even while sitting. His small, round ears peeked over the headband he wore, his hands were capped with thick black claws which had been holding a small device with surprising dexterity when they came in. He was seated facing away when they came in, and they could see, before he turned to rise to his feet, the small nubby tail, and that he wore sandals instead of regular shoes due to the nails on his feet being as thick and sharp as the ones on his hands. 

He looked strong, and dangerous, and Keith found himself melting into a defensive posture Shiro had trained into him as the guy rushed at them. 

…And scooped up Pidge into a tight hug that brought them up off their feet. “Oh my gosh,” the guy said, voice quick and panicked. Keith, awkward, shifted back into a more normal stance, feeling awkward. “You were gone for so long, did you realize how worried I was about you? We had no idea what would happen and-“ 

“I’m fine,” Pidge said, a laugh in their voice. They pushed away from the guy until he set them gently back on their feet. “Didn’t even get a glance from the Garrison,” they added, adjusting their glasses with a smile. 

“That’s a relief,” the guy said with a sigh. He turned towards Keith and Lance and reached out his clawed hand for a shake. “It’s nice to meet you two. I don’t know what Pidge told you, but I’m-“

“Hunk?” Lance interrupted, stepping forward for the first time to Keith’s field of view. He was staring at the big guy with an amazed expression on his face. 

The big guy looked confused and a little alarmed at first, but after looking Lance up and down for a moment he ventured out a tentative, “Lance?” 

Lance laughed, rubbing the back of his head. “Oh, man,” he said, stepping forward. “I never expected to be seeing you ever again. Look at you!” he looked up at the guy, Hunk, when he was just an arm’s length away. “You grew up a lot from that short little guy I knew.” 

“Just a little,” Hunk chuckled, ducking his head and looking shy. “Can I- can I give you a hug?” Hunk asked. 

“Dude, you don’t even need to ask,” Lance said. Hunk wrapped his arms around Lance, more gently than he did with Pidge, and they took a minute to just hold each other. 

Keith glanced from the apparent reunion to Pidge, wondering at their expression. Their gaze was soft, but there was a bitter twist to their lips that Keith had to wonder about. 

Lance pulled away from Hunk first, rubbing his eyes. “I wondered what happened to you,” he said. 

Hunk shrugged and sat back down in the chair he’d abandoned. “When mom got sick, she needed more care than dad and I could provide. The station hospital said that the pods would only slow things down, and we needed someone who could be with her all day. We couldn’t afford it. Thankfully, kids are worth more. I don’t know what happened to my dad.” 

“Hunk,” Lance said, blanching at the offhand way Hunk just… _said_ it. 

“I’m not the only one, though, buddy,” he said, looking pointedly between Lance’s ears and tail.

Lance cupped one of his pointed ears self-consciously and shifted in place. “Yeah,” he said, voice low. “I volunteered. It was me or my mom or dad, and I couldn’t let it be them.”

“It’s bullshit that was a choice anyway,” Pidge said, and everyone jumped both in surprise at hearing them speak after being quiet for so long, and at the venom in their voice. “Nobody has to make a choice between selling themselves into actual slavery to pay for things their families need.” 

“It’s not slavery,” Keith protested. “I’m not a slave.” 

“Oh yeah?” Pidge asked, walking up to Keith. Hunk suddenly looked really tired, while Lance glanced between them and Keith, uncomfortable. “Why don’t you walk out of here with those ears uncovered? How far do you think you’d go before someone grabs you and tells your _Owner_ that you’re walking around without a leash on? Does _he_ know you’re out here? Hey, what do you plan to do for the rest of your life? Did you graduate high school? What do you think would happen if your Owner suddenly bites it, or gets tired of you? It happens, you know. Ask Hunk; his first Owner got rid of him because he was too much of a crybaby, apparently. Like a kid taken from his parents wouldn’t be just a little bit upset. And his second one got dropped him off back at the Institute because he hit puberty and wasn’t an adorable teddy bear anymore. Every time his ‘price’ went down because he was ‘used goods.’” 

“Pidge,” Hunk chided. Lance was staring at him with wide, wet eyes. 

“Sorry, Hunk,” they said, sounding not very sorry at all. “But he has to know what some people had to deal with. What _he_ might have to deal with when his Owner gets tired of him.” 

“Shiro wouldn’t do that,” Keith protested. 

“How do you know?” Pidge countered. 

“Because he’s not _like_ that,” Keith said, biting out the words. “He bought me when I was a kid because my parents died. He’s never hurt me, or anything like that. He’s not like the other Owners out there-“ 

“But he’s still an Owner,” Pidge said. “He still paid to own you, no matter how nice he treats you. Don’t you see the problem here?” Pidge said, their tone suddenly changing to beseeching rather than accusatory. “Why do they take kids who lost their only family and make them into someone else’s property rather than help them? Let them go to school, get jobs, become productive members of society. Instead you have cases like you, and Hunk, and Lance, here.” 

“I don’t need to hear this,” Keith said, turning around and leaving the store room. He heard Pidge shout at him to wait, but he ignored them, slamming the door shut behind him. He heard a yelp from the room behind him and almost ignored it, continuing on towards the entrance. 

He almost left the building entirely when two things happened at once; first was Pidge throwing the door to the store room open and yelling at him to stop, and the second was him realizing with horror that he _still had Lance’s control bracelet on._

He spun around, rushing back into the store room, shouldering past Pidge who was grabbing at him, trying to push him in front of them and back towards Lance. 

Lance, who was on the floor in Hunk’s arms, curled into a ball with both hands trying to pull the collar off his throat, teeth clenched together so hard that Keith had a brief worry that he’d crack them, legs drawn up and twitching in apparent agony. Keith froze, at first not able to process what he was seeing – he’d never seen a Pet who’d been separated enough from their Owner to trigger the safety mechanism that was designed to keep the Pet from wandering.

“Stop staring and move!” Pidge snapped, grabbing Keith’s wrist that had the bracelet and pulling him towards Lance. 

Keith snapped out of his stupor and surged forward, skidding on his knees up to Lance and pressing his wrist to a sensor tab on Lance’s collar once Hunk pulled Lance’s hands away. Something Lance didn’t appreciate, judging by his whimpers as they waited, holding their collective breaths until Lance’s collar gave a beep and he abruptly went limp, his chest heaving with his breaths. 

“I’ll get him some water,” Pidge said, rising to their feet and disappearing to the sales floor, leaving the three Pets alone. 

Keith watched Lance, a pit in his belly. He forgot the control collar. He _forgot_. An Owner could also use it to punish a misbehaving Pet as well as use it as a tether, and neither was an issue for Keith with Shiro. But what if Shiro wasn’t as kind as he was? Keith would have been in horrible pain as much as Lance was for any reason, and there was nothing he could have done about it. 

Shiro was a good person and wouldn’t use pain against Keith or anyone else. But did Shiro have the right to have that sort of power in the first place? Did anyone? 

“I’m sorry,” Keith said, voice hushed. 

Lance peeled his eyes open just enough to glare at Keith before shutting them again, but he went to sit up anyway, grunting. Hunk helped him up, resting a hand on his back once Lance was more or less vertical. “Next time,” Lance said, voice raspy. “You’re wearing the damn collar.” 

Keith nodded. He would if he could spare Lance from that pain again. 

“You don’t have to,” Pidge said as they returned, a bottle of water in their hands. They passed it over to Lance who took it gratefully, swallowing deep long swigs of water. After he took a couple gulps, Pidge continued. “I can deactivate the control bracelet. The collar will still register as active if someone tries to check it for whatever reason, but nobody ever checks the bracelet.” 

“Yeah,” Lance said, working at the clasp instantly. “Do it, please.” 

“Lance,” Keith said, a denial on his tongue. Lance seemed to realize what he was going to say because he paused just long to raise his hand, palm out, towards Keith. 

“Nope,” he said. “You can keep your own shock collar, but if they’re offering to take the bite out of mine, I’ll let them.” 

“We still don’t know if we can trust them!” Keith said. He still felt shaky, and sick, and just wanted to get back to Shiro’s quarters and forget the day even happened. 

“You don’t,” Hunk said, cutting in. “But we can at least let you know about why Pidge led you here.” 

Keith hesitated, but then nodded. He had to admit that he was curious – if Pidge only wanted to let him know that his ears weren’t well-hidden they could have said their piece and been gone, but they led him and Lance to this store for a reason. May as well find out what that reason was. 

Pidge joined the other three on the floor, crossing their legs in front of them, hands on knees and leaning forwards. “Hunk and I,” they said. “Want to get together as many people as we can, Pets and sympathetic people, and we want to get rid of the Pet program for good.” 

Both Keith and Lance stared at them, but they just looked back, determined. Even Hunk had a set jaw. 

“That’s impossible,” Lance said. “The program has been in place for deca-pheebs, nobody is going to want to get rid of it.” 

“Why not?” Pidge asked. “Do you realize how few people on the station actually encounter a Pet? Even among the wealthy they’re not super common.” 

“Yeah,” Lance said, though it didn’t sound like he was fully agreeing with them. “But they’re still a hot item – There’s not always Pets available to buy, and they’re expensive. Not to mention, we’d have to come up with something new for like, the orphans or criminals or whatever. We’d have to completely rebuild a lot of the systems in place.” 

“Then so be it,” Pidge said, waving a hand. “That stuff we can work out. Right now, we got people being abused, being bought and sold like they’re _objects_. Why are you against this idea?” 

“I’m not against the idea,” Lance said, hands raised defensively. “I just think there’s some things you might not be realizing. It’s not going to be easy just upending the whole thing.”

“That’s something we can figure out,” Hunk said, hand on Lance’s shoulder. “And if you help us out, that’s another person to go over any issues.” 

“Alright,” Lance sighed. “Fine. Let’s do this. Keith?” He asked, looking up at Keith doubtfully where he was sitting there silently. “What do you say?” 

“I’m in.” Keith said. 

Three sets of eyes blinked at him in confusion. 

“Not to be unappreciative,” Pidge said, slowly. “But why? Weren’t you just defending your Owner just a few dobashes ago?” 

Keith nodded. “I was. And I’ll still defend him. But I’ve known for a long time that Shiro was a lot better than a lot of Owners out there, and I know how lucky I am. Not everyone’s as lucky as me. It’s better just to get rid of the whole program than to try and fix it at this point.” 

Pidge and Hunk smiled at him, though Lance just looked more confused. 

“You do realize that if they get rid of the Pet program you won’t belong to Shiro anymore, right?” Lance asked. 

Keith nodded, feeling a bloom of heat in his cheeks. “I know. I’m counting on it. Maybe if we succeed he won’t just look at me as just his Pet anymore.” 

Lance rolled his eyes while Pidge groaned. “Great,” they sighed. “One of the first members of our movement has a _crush_ on his Owner. That’s great for optics.” 

Hunk just laughed and nudged Pidge, almost making the smaller person tip over. “I’m not going to complain about getting more people on our side. But hey,” he said, turning towards Keith and Lance. “Do either of you have any sort of device that your Owner doesn’t use or look at? We need some way to communicate with you two so we can hash out a plan. We’ve already got ideas, but we can use all the help we can get.” 

“I have a tablet,” Keith offered. Shiro never bothered putting any locks on anything. It wasn’t like Keith had a whole lot of people he could talk to. 

“Perfect,” Pidge said. “Hunk, how about you help set Keith up with our info, meanwhile I can deactivate the control bracelet. We got some work to do.”

_*_*_

Keith woke up over-warm, someone else’s arms wrapped around him. He shifted, trying to gently dislodge those arms without waking up their owner, but Lance just tightened his grip and pressed even closer than before. 

The quintent before when they finally got back to Shiro’s quarters Keith had looked at a chronometer and immediately started on dinner. Lance snatched up Keith’s tablet, asked his permission to install the application that would allow them to communicate with Pidge and Hunk, and at Keith’s nod he curled up with it on the couch. He was looking and tapping away at it for longer than it would take to install and run the application, and at Keith’s questioning look Lance had shrugged and said he was catching up with Hunk. 

The rest of the quintent passed more or less normally – Shiro came home not too much later, they ate, Shiro looked over some information on his own tablet while Lance watched a vid and Keith cleaned up from dinner.

When they retired to bed, Lance, instead of lying down in his own bed he flopped back in Keith’s. 

Keith had looked at him, unimpressed. “Move,” he said. 

Lance just grinned back at him in response, crossing his arms behind his head. “Nope, yours is better.” 

Keith stopped himself from rolling his eyes by a force of will and instead turned away to get changed.

“Are you sure you want to help out Pidge and Hunk?” Lance asked. “It could get you in a lot of trouble. Shiro, too, since he owns you. Us.” 

Keith nodded, still turned away from Lance. “Or it works, and we don’t have to worry. Did Hunk say anything about what they’ve got planned?” 

“Nice try changing the subject, Keith. Anyway, right now they’ve got plans to run some ads. Pidge knows a way to upload it so that they’ll come up on people’s tablets, but can’t be traced back to them. Really simple stuff at first, just questioning the program. Appealing to people’s emotions, that sort of thing. At least at first, you know?” 

Keith finished up getting dressed, sliding a clean shirt over his head. He turned around right in time to see Lance turn his head away from him, a slight blush on his cheeks. 

Keith felt his ears twitch. Was Lance just…? No. Keith was probably just something to look at while he talked, there couldn’t be any other reason. 

“Can I see?” Keith asked, gesturing towards the tablet Lance still had in his hands. Lance passed it over, and Keith sat down next to Lance on the bed. He opened up the chat program and scrolled back through the messages. 

Lance and Hunk had been talking more than Keith thought – due to some of the time stamps, he must have said some things during one of his ‘bathroom breaks.’ Keith skimmed over the messages, skipping the ones that seemed a bit too… personal, focusing on the ones that seemed to be more about the plan to get rid of the Pet program. 

Lance had already summed up the plan, but there were a few more details in the chat. The ads would come up on certain social media sites that were currently popular. There were also image macros and memes already planned out, snappy sentences questioning how useful Pets actually were, or how moral it was that in the Altea Space Station, a colony separate from Earth that was created so that people can live without the cultural baggage from Earth, would re-create slavery that unfairly targeted the less privileged. 

It’d work to get people talking, Keith mused. And talking was a good first step to actual action. His mind was already working, trying to come up with something he could add, even if it was just another image macro. He wasn’t sure what would work with people, though, instead of being dismissed immediately. 

He glanced down at Lance and this time he couldn’t restrain the eyeroll. Lance was asleep already, stretched out along the wall. 

“Get up,” Keith said, shaking Lance’s shoulder. 

“Okay, sure,” Lance mumbled, but didn’t move. 

“Now,” Keith insisted, shaking his shoulder harder. 

“Yeah, yeah, yeah, getting up,” Lance said, shifting so that he was lying on his belly. And then didn’t move. 

“Whatever,” Keith muttered. He managed to pull the blanket up out from under Lance and throw it over them both as he bedded down. In his own bed. He could have slept on Lance’s, but Lance was on _his bed._

And so, when he woke up, Lance was wrapped around him, Keith’s back to Lance’s chest. 

Keith had to wonder how much of Lance’s desire for contact quintents ago were due to the drugs he was on, and how much was because of his own natural need for contact. 

Keith shifted again, wanting some space, but Lance once more just snuggled up close, throwing a leg over Keith’s hip and nuzzling into the nape of Keith’s neck. 

Keith tensed. Lance’s lips and breath on his neck made his heart start racing in his chest. There was a worrying hardness pressed up against his ass. 

He wasn’t worried about being nice any more, he peeled Lance’s arms from around him and slid out of the bed as fast as he could. He looked back at the bed, his face burning. Lance didn’t seem to notice Keith’s absence, having turned onto his belly. Keith watched, horrified, as his hips surged once against the bed, but let out a relieved breath when he went still. Keith _really_ didn’t want to have to make Lance clean his sheets.

He shook his head. He needed to use the bathroom, at least. Hopefully by the time he was done Lance would be awake and have no idea that he was, erm. _Cuddling_ with Keith.

Shiro was just leaving his bedroom when Keith left the bathroom. Shiro smiled at him, surprised and pleased to see him already awake. 

“Keith, I’m glad to see you’re up. Is Lance up, too?” 

Keith just about choked on his own spit, making Shiro look suddenly concerned. “Um, yeah,” Keith said. “Lance is… up.” 

“Oh, okay,” Shiro said, apparently confused but willing to play along. “Well, would you mind grabbing him so that we can get going? I have the day off so I’m not in a rush, but it’s best to get going soon.” 

Keith nodded and entered his room, though at the last minute he hesitated, looking at Lance on his bed. Thankfully, the feline hadn’t moved since he’d been gone, still sprawled on his belly. He shook Lance’s shoulder. “Get up,” he said. 

Lance hrumphed and nuzzled his face into the mattress, but otherwise didn’t move. 

Keith’s mouth twisted and he reached out to pinch Lance’s ear, hard. 

“Ow, ow, ow ow ow,” Lance gasped, head lifting off the bed in an attempt to stop the pain. “Okay, okay, I’m up, I’m up!” 

“Get dressed,” Keith said, crossing his arms. “Time to hit the gym.” 

“Fine, fine,” Lance muttered, sitting up and rubbing his abused ear. Keith couldn’t help but glance down at Lance’s lap, but then immediately looked away before he really saw anything, turning towards his own dresser for his gym gear.

He followed Lance with his ears as the other Pet yawned, stretched, and stumbled his way to the bathroom. By the time he finished dressing Lance had already returned and was changing into his own gear. Keith left him in their shared bedroom to finish up, meeting up with Shiro in the living room to grab his collar and wait. 

For the first time in pheebs, however, he paused before putting the collar on, staring at it in his hand for a long moment. The quintent before he was able to leave Shiro’s quarters without putting the collar on, and seeing what it did to Lance made him hesitate to put it on again. It was a sign of his status more than his ears or tail were, something that physically controlled how far he could move away from his Owner without being punished, something Shiro could use against him at any time when they were out and among people. 

“Everything okay, Keith?” Shiro asked, concerned. Keith looked up at Shiro and put his collar on, shaking his head. 

“Yeah,” he said. “It’s fine.” 

Lance came out a dobash or two later, put his own collar on with no hesitation, and the three of them made their way to the building’s gym. 

After their usual warm-up, Lance started to break away from Keith and Shiro. While Lance was still shaky from the drugs he was on, Keith and Shiro would spar separately while Lance did some more low-impact exercises, just enough to keep him moving and keep him fit without requiring a lot of coordination. But before Lance could take more than a step or two away, Shiro stopped him with a hand on his shoulder. 

“Lance,” Shiro said. “Would you like to join Keith and I today? It’s make me feel better if I knew you could defend yourself.” 

“Are you sure?” Lance asked, ears twitching and looking between Keith and Shiro. Keith just stood with his arms crossed, looking back at Lance and awaiting his reply. He figured Shiro would eventually want Lance to join him, and tried not to feel jealous of Lance cutting into their time together, even though it was one of the last few things Keith and Shiro had that didn’t involve Lance since Shiro had bought him. Still, Keith couldn’t help the slight peeved tilt to his ears, something he was sure Lance was picking up on. 

“Yes, but it’s up to you,” Shiro said, sincerity in his voice. 

“Sure, okay,” Lance said, and they walked to one of the smaller padded rooms off the main gym. He followed Keith and Shiro as they took off their shoes just inside the door, and stood, shifting from foot to foot as Shiro stepped to the side. 

“Alright Lance,” Shiro said. “Did you have any training in any hand-to-hand?” 

Lance shook his head. “I got into a few scraps, but no real training or anything.” 

Shiro nodded. “Okay, that’s fine. Keith, you mind having Lance practice with you at first?” 

Keith shrugged and walked to the middle of the room, Lance awkwardly following. Shiro was still so much better than Keith, the years of experience and extra body weight in pure muscle making him a formidable opponent. Lance and Keith were more evenly matched, at least as far as weight goes. 

“Okay,” Shiro said, when they were in position. “So, I want to see where you’re at as far as what we need to work on. So right now, I want you to try and pin Keith to the floor.” 

“Wait, wait,” Lance said, glancing between Keith and Shiro. “You want me to just start off fighting him? Shouldn’t we, like, work on form or something first?” 

Shiro nodded, but said, “Form’s important, but I want to see what you can do now. That way, we can compare later once you’ve practiced.” 

“Sure,” Lance said, still sounding unsure, but he looked at Keith and grinned. “Think you can take me on, bunny-boy?” 

Keith just settled into a fighting stance. He was fairly confident that Lance wouldn’t be able to pin him that quintent. “Are you just going to keep talking, or are you going to try and pin me?” 

Lance’s gaze focused and he rushed at him. Keith assumed Lance meant to grapple him, but simply stepped to the side and knocked Lance’s feet out from under him. Lance hit the mat with an oof, looking startled. 

“No fair!” he shouted over his shoulder, glaring at Keith. 

“Why wouldn’t it be fair?” Keith asked, honestly confused. 

Shiro cut in before Lance could respond, “Try again, Lance. But this time watch Keith so you can anticipate where he’s going to move.”

Lance pushed himself to his feet, and they faced each other again. Lance didn’t try cracking any jokes again, just imitated Keith’s stand and kept his eyes on him, ears pricked forward and tail ticking off the mats. Keith just kept his breath steady watching Lance back. Keith knew that all he had to do was out wait Lance, the feline would eventually – 

Right on schedule Lance lunged at Keith, the same as he did the last time. Once again Keith side-stepped, but this time instead of sweep Lance’s legs out he turned to the side and planted his foot at the small of Lance’s back. The result was the same; Lance staggered, tried to catch his balance with his tail flailing, but still ended up hitting the mat. 

Lance thumped the mat with his fist in frustration, but got back up on his feet. He faced Keith again, ears thrust forward aggressively, tail beginning to puff up. Keith glanced at Shiro, and thankfully he seemed to be noticing the same thing Keith was. There was taking things seriously, but Lance seemed to be getting angry. 

“Okay, Lance,” Shiro said, voice calm and taking a step toward them. “This time,”

“I know!” Lance snapped. Again he rushed Keith, but instead of going for a grapple he swung his fist at his head. Keith deflected it and planted his foot in Lance’s belly, pushing the feline back a couple steps. Lance folded over for just a minute, but with a growl he launched himself back at Keith, fists swinging. 

Keith realized quickly that Lance was losing it – the more he swung at Keith, the more Keith deflected or dodged, the greater Lance’s fury grew. Keith couldn’t even counter without hurting Lance, his movements so chaotic. Not to mention that with every swing, every swipe of Lance’s clawed hands, he was cursing at Keith, breathless little, ‘fuck you’s, ‘damnit’s, and demands for Keith to stay still so Lance could ‘fucking _hit_ ’ him. 

“Lance, that’s enough!” Shiro demanded from somewhere behind Keith, he couldn’t afford to take his eyes off of Lance long enough to check where his Owner was. 

Lance didn’t seem to hear. Either that or he was purposely ignoring him, all his rage and focus on taking Keith down. 

Eventually, Lance got a lucky hit in, a single claw raking across Keith’s face and slicing a razor-thin burning line that immediately started to ooze hot blood. 

That’s when Shiro physically stepped in, hooking both arms around Lance and hauling him back and away from Keith. Lance’s flailing legs and tail made them fall to the mat, but Shiro maintained the hold on Lance even as Lance raked his claws down Shiro’s arms trying to peel them off him, wiggling around and trying to slam the back of his head into Shiro’s, who had tucked his head down against Lance’s shoulder to avoid it. 

Keith stepped back, watching as Lance howled, demanding Shiro to, “Let me go, let me go! I’m gonna kill him, let me go!” and frustrated howls. Shiro’s own voice, begging Lance to, “Calm down, please, Lance. I’m not going to let you go until you calm down,” almost buried under Lance’s roars. 

Keith’s heart thudded in his chest as he wondered what to do. This… wasn’t normal behavior. Even for Lance. 

Eventually, Lance did seem to calm. Or rather, he stopped thrashing in Shiro’s arms, his roars and demands to be let go turning into sobs. Tentatively, Shiro let him go. Both he and Keith braced for Lance to lunge at Keith again, but instead he just curled up on the mat, covering his face and wailing. 

Shiro climbed to his feet and stepped up to Keith, hand gentle as he examined the cut on Keith’s cheek. Keith brushed his hand away, indicating the gouges on Shiro’s own arms. 

Shiro waved his hand dismissively. “It’s fine,” he soothed Keith. “They’re not deep.” 

“I’m sorry,” Lance hiccupped, drawing Keith and Shiro’s attention to where he was still curled up on the floor, ears flattened and tail tucked in close. “I’m so sorry.” 

“Guys,” Lance swallowed. “I think there’s something wrong with me.” 

_*_*_

“I’ve got the results of Lance’s blood test,” Lotor said, entering the exam room Shiro and Lance were waiting in. 

Lance was sitting on the exam table, drawn into himself and quiet. Shiro was standing next to the bed, leaning up against the wall with his arms crossed. He had wrapped his arms and put on a long-sleeved shirt before they left for the Institute, where there were clinics for emergency Pet health issues. They were the ones who made them, it was only fair for them to fix them. 

Shiro was worried about Lance, but he was kicking himself for not stepping in earlier to put a stop to things before they got to the point they did. He could tell that Lance was quickly getting angrier than he should – Shiro should have called a stop to it, shown Lance better moves, or at least told Keith to stop teasing him. 

After Lance had calmed down, he mentioned how he couldn’t seem to get a grip on his emotions, getting angry and sad at turns and unable to pull him out of it until they seemed to pass as quickly as they started. Shiro didn’t even realize it was an issue – sure, he’d gotten annoyed at Shiro and seemed down, but Shiro just assumed that they were just normal facets of Lance’s behavior. 

Shiro offered to take Lance to the Institution, and at Lance’s immediately panicked expression, assured him that it was just to get an exam done, to see if the Pet procedure may have gone wrong somehow and if there was any way they could fix it or help Lance control his emotions like he used to. 

Shiro was afraid that they’d have to put Lance back on the sedative. He’d gotten used to the young man, he didn’t want to see him reduced back to what he was – an automaton that just ate what was given to him and slept the rest of the time. 

He didn’t expect Lotor himself to be Lance’s physician (vet? Shiro wasn’t sure what the ‘correct’ word was for Pets, but he would go with ‘physician’ until he was corrected). But when Lotor walked into the room, he seemed oddly happy to see Lance, and when Shiro explained the issue, Lance quiet with his head lowered the entire time and refusing to talk to either of them, Lotor immediately suggested a blood test, citing he had a good idea of what the problem was and just needing verification. 

“Is he okay?” Shiro asked, shifting closer to Lance so he could rest a hand on Lance’s hunched shoulder. He twitched under Shiro’s palm, and he immediately withdrew his hand. After a tick or two, Lance leaned into Shiro’s side as they waited for Lotor to bring up a document on his tablet. 

“He will be,” Lotor said. “At least in a few quintents, though possibly sooner. Have you ever heard of a biological process known as rut, or musth?” 

Shiro looked at Lance, but the young man didn’t react one way or another. “No,” Shiro said. “I can’t say I have.” 

“How about heat?” Lotor prompted. “It tends to be more well-known, though it’s the female version of rut.” 

Shiro blinked. “Wait, are you saying that Lance is in heat- in a rut?” At his side Lance twitched, hard, but didn’t raise his head. 

“When an animal is in rut,” Lotor said smoothly, sitting down at the small stool in the room. “They exhibit changed behavior – most notably increased aggression. According to Lance’s charts he’s got Loxodonta africana as part of his genetic make-up; they’re renowned for aggression during their musth to the point of self-destruction.”

“Why would you use such an animal if that’s the case?” Shiro asked, baffled. 

Lotor shrugged. “The Pet process is, unfortunately, not an exact science. It’s quite possible that it was chosen because they’re extremely social animals, and it was assumed that would allow Lance to better form a bond with his caretaker.” 

“Is there anything we can do to help him?” Shiro asked. 

“Well,” Lotor said, leaning forward. “There are a couple options. We can stop the rut entirely by de-sexing him. Without testicles to produce testosterone, he won’t ever have a rut again. It is a bit of a dramatic step, and I know most caretakers prefer to have their Pets intact.” 

Shiro looked down at Lance, who had managed to curl up even further, ears flattened against his skull. 

“Anything else?” Shiro asked. “Medications, therapy...?”

Lotor shook his head, a pitying expression on his face. “Unfortunately medication would be unreliable at best. Part of the rut is the wide variations in hormone levels. He would have to be constantly measuring his levels and adjusting his medications accordingly, which would mean that he would risk spiking them dangerously.” 

Shiro thought. “I know it’s possible to change Pets even after they’ve been bought. Is it possible to… put him in a pod and take the Loxodonta out of him? 

Lotor humed, but then shook his head. “Unfortunately, you can say that Lance is genetically fragile – any further altering of his DNA can have extremely negative consequences. While we do allow further alterations, we recommend waiting at least half of pheeb.”

“What else is there?” Shiro asked. “What would you recommend?” 

“You know what,” Lance muttered, his voice almost inaudible from his huddle. 

“I’m afraid,” Lotor continued, apparently not having heard Lance. “That there is one reliable way to stop rut without having to turn to castration. Sexual congress. With a human, or another Pet, either will work. You _do_ have another Pet, I believe?” 

Shiro blanched and turned away, horrified. “You’re saying I have to have sex with Lance for him to get over the rut,” he said, more of a statement than a question. 

“It doesn’t have to be you,” Lotor offered. “We can also perform it here – there are a number of staff or Pets that would be willing to assist. You can interview them beforehand, of course, to-“ 

“I don’t think that’s necessary,” Shiro interrupted. Mostly because as soon as Lotor started speaking Lance had grabbed Shiro’s leg, his claws on the verge of digging in. He was _trembling_ shiro realized. And why not – Lotor was literally requesting Shiro to choose Lance’s _rapist._

“Of course,” Lotor said smoothly, like Shiro never interrupted. “Would you like to think over your options for a quintent or two? I would like to remind you, however, that if Lance becomes aggressive and harms a human then by law he has to be returned to the Institute.” 

Lance flinched, and Lotor was looking at Shiro’s arms pointedly. Shiro didn’t react, didn’t look down at his crossed arms. He knew that the scratches Lance gave him were well-hidden by his shirt. 

“I’ll keep that in mind,” Shiro said. Then he turned to Lance and knelt, putting himself lower than Lance’s face, even though he was curled up so low. His face was still hidden, buried in his knees. “Lance,” he said softly, trying to catch the young man’s attention. “What would you like to do?” 

Lance didn’t move for a long moment, several ticks passing by. Shiro was tempted to say something else when Lance shook his head, grinding his forehead into his knees. “Just take me back,” Lance said, voice quiet and miserable. 

“Okay,” Shiro said, gentle. “We can go now.” He stood and turned towards Lotor, who still haven’t moved from the stool. “We’ll let you know if we need to come back. How long is this ‘rut’ supposed to last?” 

Lotor shrugged. “Five quintents, give or take? Be aware of changes in his surroundings – ruts are usually triggered by environmental factors, such as changes in seasons, diet, that sort of thing. On the station, who knows what would be the cause?” 

Shiro nodded his understanding and stepped aside, letting Lance slide to his feet. Before they left, Lotor cleared his throat, making Shiro look back at him once last time. 

“Please take care of him, Mr. Shirogane,” Lotor said. “I have to admit to some jealousy – if Lance hadn’t been picked up so quickly, I was debating on purchasing him myself. He’s lucky to have someone like you for a caretaker.” 

Shiro wasn’t sure how to respond that wouldn’t end in him being escorted out and Lance probably detained, and considering how Lance was shaking, gaze focused on the ground in front of him, he didn’t need to be distressed any more. Instead, he just turned away from the director and left, Lance on his heels. 

They didn’t say anything on the way home. When they were on the train Lance sat further away than normal. Shiro couldn’t blame him. 

Lance started shaking, making Shiro look over, concerned. He had his face buried in his hands, all Shiro could see of his expression were his lips pulled back from his teeth. He was shuddering, choked little noises escaping him. 

“Lance,” Shiro said, voice soft. He reached out to try and comfort Lance and hesitated – would Lance even be welcoming his touch right then? Would he ever? 

Lance lowered his hands from his face and looked at Shiro side-on. Shiro flinched back – he couldn’t tell if Lance was actually crying or laughing. Was Lance having another emotional outburst, or was this a normal reaction to what they learned? Did it matter?

“It’s okay,” Lance said, his voice quivering. “It’s actually really hilarious, right? Here I am, worried about someone fucking me, and it turns out you have to or I’ll go nuts! Isn’t that funny?” He let out some chuckles, but was rubbing his eyes at the same time, trying to catch the tears that were falling. 

“It doesn’t have to be like that,” Shiro said, trying to say with both voice and body language that he wasn’t a threat to Lance,that he didn’t have to worry about him. “I’m not going to do anything to you that you don’t want me to,” he continued. “We can wait it out, or maybe Keith-“ he cut himself off, feeling ashamed of himself at what he was about to suggest without thinking. Maybe Keith could have sex with Lance. It wasn’t fair, it wasn’t _right_ to volunteer Keith, for both Keith and Lance’s sakes. Sure, Shiro counted on Keith for a lot, but this was something Shiro couldn’t ask Keith to do – it wasn’t like doing laundry or cleaning dishes, for crying out loud. 

Lance didn’t seem to realize what Shiro was about to say, because he was shaking his head. “Didn’t you hear what that Lotor guy said? Don’t you remember what happened earlier? I was _so angry_ at Keith. I didn’t want to just beat him, I wanted to _kill him,_ Shiro. What about next time that happens? What if you weren’t around? Oh, shit, we were both out without you yesterday, what if I snapped when I was surrounded by people?” He clamped his hands over his mouth, paling. Shiro didn’t think and just wrapped an arm around Lance’s shoulders, pulling him close. Right when he realized that he was touching Lance, holding him to his body, and was about to pull away, Lance instead leaned into him, shivering. 

Shiro wanted to tell Lance that it would be alright, wanted to comfort him, but wasn’t sure about what he could say that wouldn’t be a lie. 

They remained like that until their stop, Shiro hesitating before helping Lance to his feet, and they made their way to Shiro’s quarters, pace slow and almost to a shuffle. Neither of them seemed like they wanted to be back there quite yet. 

“I just want you to know,” Shiro said, breaking the silence. Lance flinched, but didn’t look at him. “That it’s your choice. I’m not going to force you to do anything. If you’re wanting to wait it out, or get… altered, or, or anything, I’ll support you.” 

Lance chuckled mirthlessly. “You can’t even say it, can you?” 

“I’m… not too comfortable about the idea, to be honest,” Shiro admitted. “I’ve never been comfortable with people having sex with their Pets. I don’t want to be that kind of Owner.” 

“And now I’m making you,” Lance said, quiet. Shiro glanced at him, seeing the lowered ears, the tail held so low it was almost brushing the floor. 

Shiro sighed. “It’s not your fault,” Shiro said. “Sure, I’d rather you not have to go through this in the first place, but if you need me to help you, no matter what it is, I’ll do it. I owe it to you.” 

Still, Shiro didn’t want to do it. It wasn’t the physical aspect – under the ears and the tail, Lance was a handsome young man. Maybe in another life Shiro would have flirted with him, maybe have something together. But in the one he was living in, he owned Lance, legally he could do just about anything to him, and Lance couldn’t say no. Even if Lance asked for Shiro to… help him, it still wasn’t right. He had no choice. 

Lance was silent the rest of the walk back. When they got back to his quarters, Lance paused just enough to slide off his collar. For some reason though, he looked at it before hanging it back up, huffing out a bitter laugh. 

Keith was sitting in his usual chair when they walked in, though he rose to his feet before they had shut the door behind him. “Is everything alright?” he asked. Lance didn’t respond, just pushed past him, disappearing into their room, closing the door behind him. 

Keith looked at Shiro, confusion written on his face, one ear turned towards the bedroom. 

Shiro shook his head. “He’ll tell you if he wants to, I’m not going to say anything until then.” 

“Oh, okay,” Keith said, reflexively brushing the scratch on his cheek. “Um. You want me to make something for lunch, or…” 

“Yeah,” Shiro said, smiling, though even he could tell it was weak and unconvincing. “Let me help. I need something to keep my mind off things.” 

Keith narrowed his eyes suspiciously at Shiro. “Are you sure everything’s okay?” 

“Yeah,” Shiro said. “It will be.” 

Eventually. 

He hoped. 

_*_*_

The sound of Shiro’s door creaking open vargas later woke him out of a sound sleep, startling him into waking up. There was a figure in his doorway, backlit by the hallway light. Lance. 

“Lance?” he said, voice blurry with sleep. He sat up, blankets pooling around his hips. “Everything okay?” 

He hadn’t seen Lance since they got back from the Institute. He’d holed himself up in his room until Shiro went to bed, Keith bedding down on the couch in a pair of soft shorts he’d borrowed from Shiro. Lance had even skipped meals – not answering the door when both Shiro then Keith tried talking him out. Shiro eventually told Keith to give Lance his space – he had a lot to work through. He didn’t tell him that what he was working through was an issue with his own biology propelling him to mate. 

Lance nodded. If it wasn’t for the lambent shine of his eyes Shiro wouldn’t have been able to tell that he wasn’t looking at Shiro, but at the floor. 

He stepped forward, shutting the door behind him but not latching it. He perched on the edge of Shiro’s bed, not looking Shiro in the face, staring at the blanket. 

Shiro’s heart started thudding in his chest. Was this Lance making a decision? 

“Lance,” he started, but trailed off awkwardly. What should he say in that situation? What could he say? 

“I don’t,” Lance said, but stopped himself abruptly, like he was about to second guess or change what he was going to say. He slumped, running his hand through his hair. “I just… I don’t want to hurt anyone,” he said, voice low. “Earlier, I got so _mad_ at Keith, and for pretty much no reason. And the more he wouldn’t just… let me hit him, the more pissed off I got. I didn’t want to just hurt him, I wanted to kill him. Isn’t that fucked up? Wanting someone to die because they embarrassed you?

“And… it’s dumb,” he let out a low, bitter laugh. “But I also don’t want to lose my balls, you know? Like, it’s not a big deal in the grand scheme of things, I guess, but, I mean.” He shook his head, frustrated. “I already lost so much of _me_ , I don’t want to lose what I got left. And I like my balls.” He let out another weak chuckle. “I’m kinda attached to them.” 

Shiro just nodded along, not saying anything. He didn’t want to interrupt Lance, even if he was rambling. 

Lance seemed to realize that he was, because he shook his head vigorously, palming his face. “Not important,” he muttered, apparently to himself. “Anyway,” he said, louder. “I just. I guess you’re not the worst option. 

“Okay,” Shiro said. Lance flinched, and Shiro’s heart hurt for him. He didn’t envy Lance for his position. He was suddenly worried he wouldn’t be able to… perform, for Lance. Sure, Lance was physically attractive, but the situation was less than ideal. Shiro preferred his partners enthusiastically consenting, not coming to him because he’s their only choice. 

“Have you done this before?” Shiro asked, suddenly concerned. “With a guy or a girl?” 

“Yes,” Lance snapped, turning to face Shiro for the first time since he walked through the door, and of course it’s because Shiro apparently insulted Lance by insinuating he’s inexperienced. “Both. I’m not a virgin.” 

Shiro let out a breath. “Okay,” he soothed. At least it wasn’t as bad as it could have been. At least Lance has had sex he actually desired before. Someone he’d wanted. He shifted, sliding the blankets to the side. Lance’s eyes widened, darting up and down, from Shiro’s face to his bared lap. Shiro had gone to bed wearing sweat pants and a tank top so that he was fully dressed, but he could tell that Lance was still nervous. In fact, he was still perched on the edge of Shiro’s bed, ears twitching back, looking about ready to bolt. 

If Lance really wanted to do this, at least one of them needed to calm down. 

Shiro held out a hand, beckoning Lance closer, but allowing him to take his time. Slowly, tentatively, Lance slid closer, his movements stiff and jerky. When he got near to Shiro, he guided him so that Lance was leaning back against his chest. Shiro ran his hands up and down the top of Lance’s arms, keeping his touches innocent and comforting, trying to soothe the tremors that he could feel shaking Lance’s body. 

“How do you want to do this?” he murmured, once Lance lost some of his stiffness.

Lance tensed for a moment but then relaxed. Shiro assumed he was forcing himself to go limp, pressing himself firmer against Shiro’s chest. “I was thinking, maybe if you uh… me?” Lance suggested.

Okay, Shiro could do that, even if Lance couldn’t quite put it in words. It wasn’t entirely what he was asking for. “Did you want to take charge,” he clarified. “I can do what you want, that way you have control over this.” 

Lance shuddered, which was… an interesting reaction, something Shiro thought could be worth looking into later, especially since Lance shook his head. “N-no,” he said, staring at his bent knees. “I was thinking, m-maybe it would be better if you just, you know took. Charge.” 

Shiro nodded even though Lance couldn’t see him and dropped a kiss on the nape of Lance’s neck. “Okay,” he said, soft. “I can do that. Just let me know if you want to stop at any time.” 

After a tick, Lance nodded. 

Shiro dropped another kiss on Lance’s bared neck, then another, peppering small light pecks up till he reached Lance’s jaw line. There he paused, the lack of an ear in the usual place throwing him off unexpectedly. He smiled at his own confusion – he knew Lance for how long now? – and switched to the other side, adding tiny little licks when Lance raised his chin, offering up his neck. 

He bit the column of Lance’s throat, smiling when it resulted in Lance twitching, one leg kicking out, a choked noise coming from him. He wanted to bite just a little harder, see what reaction that would get, but told himself to keep them light – no bite marks for Lance to have to deal with when he woke up. 

Shiro rucked up the t-shirt Lance was wearing enough to trail both hands along his side and to his belly, Lance wiggling just a little at the light touch. Ticklish? When Shiro drew his hands up the line of Lance’s belly one nail caught in the lip of Lance’s belly button, making him hitch a breath interestingly. He kept bringing both hands up, dragging Lance’s shirt with him and baring his belly to the cool air of his room. 

He thumbed over Lance’s nipples experimentally, smiling when Lance writhed, his head falling down to thump against Shiro’s shoulder. “W-what are you,” Lance gasped when Shiro did it again. “You don’t have to…” 

“I want to,” Shiro said, when Lance just trailed off. “I want you to feel good.”

“F-fuck,” Lance bit out. “Okay.” 

Shiro tugged at Lance’s shirt until he got the hint and raised his arms so Shiro could peel it off of him. 

Lance had stripes along his back the same deep red color as the ones on his cheeks. The line of his spine was red, with the stripes branching out from there, curling around his ribs and sides to leave his front bare. The red markings tapered at Lance’s lower back, right above the base of his tail that he had pulled to the side and out of the way. Shiro only got a glimpse of those stripes before Lance was leaning back against him, reaching back to pull Shiro’s face back into the curve of his neck. 

Shiro chuckled, the puffs of air against Lance’s sensitive skin making him shiver. One hand came around to pinch at Lance’s sensitive little nipples, and the other started trailing down, from the base of his ribs, down the length of his belly, and towards the join of his legs. 

Lance got more and more tense the lower that hand went, until Shiro got to the waist of Lance’s pants. There he stopped, his fingers trailing along the top of his pants. 

“Is this okay?” Shiro murmured, raising his head to nuzzle at the base of Lance’s ear. 

Lance shuddered, and nodded, and Shiro dipped his hand under Lance’s pants to palm his cock. He was already hard, Shiro was glad to find out. His cock was a good size, too, long and lean just like the man it was attached to. 

He hooked both thumbs under the waist of Lance’s pants and pulled them and his underwear down, sliding them down off his hips and, with Lance’s help, threading his legs out of them. Shiro dropped Lance’s clothes off the side of the bed and out of the way, then wrapped his arms back around Lance, licking his palm and wrapping it around Lance’s cock, the other hand cupping his balls. 

Lance jolted in his lap, a noise like he’s dying choking out of him as his hips surged. Shiro had to wonder just how long it had been since Lance was last with someone, if he was reacting so strongly to everything. Or was it because he was a Pet? Because of the rut? He supposed he’d never know. 

Shiro stroked Lance, long and slow, thumbing under the head to make Lance shudder, digging his nail into the hole to make him twitch. Lance whimpered, his hands digging into Shiro’s knees on either side of him, claws prickling dangerously through the fabric of his sweats. 

Shiro trailed the hand on Lance’s balls back, his pointer finger rubbing inquisitively at the puckered muscle of Lance’s hole. 

At that Lance came, his head thrown back and nearly catching Shiro in the nose, teeth clenched in a rictus grin. 

Shiro stroked him through it until Lance’s twitches altered, becoming oversensitive. Shiro held him silently, and eventually Lance became limp in his arms, his breathing slowing from panting breaths to slow and even. He shifted, peering at Lance’s face. He was out cold. 

He laid Lance down on the bed, careful not to wake him, and padded to the bathroom. There he took care of his aching cock, stroking himself with the half dried come his hands were still disgusting with. He wet a washcloth and returned to his room. Lance was still out of it on his bed, turned on his side, his arm curved over his head and burying his head into the pillow. Shiro gently cleaned him up, pausing when Lance shifted in his sleep, but when Lance settled back down he finished up, tossing the cloth in the hamper with the rest of the dirty laundry. 

He carefully peeled the blankets out from under Lance and covered him with them, making sure the blankets were tucked up under his chin comfortably before leaving his bedroom, shutting the door behind him. 

Keith wasn’t on the couch anymore. Shiro couldn’t tell where he went, but the door to his and Lance’s room was shut tight. Damn it. If Keith knew what had happened…

He sat down on the couch. The cushions were cold, like Keith had been awake for some time. He pulled out his phone and opened the browser and began typing;

_How to free a Pet_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so sorry for how long it took for this chapter to come out! But hey, at least it’s nearly three times as long as the average chapter? It actually almost doubled the length of the fic, lol. 
> 
> This chapter fought me tooth and nail the entire time, and I’m still not entirely happy with this. There’s so many little things in here that bug me, wording that still doesn’t seem right but have been re-written several times, that sort of thing. 
> 
> I’d like to say that I’ll be updating no more than every two weeks, but I just got a really awesome opportunity at work, so no telling how that’s going to impact my writing schedule. Please be patient, this WILL be finished!


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I am so sorry for how long it took for me to get this chapter out. I was offered an opportunity at work that I was really looking forward to, but it meant that my stress levels have been skyrocketing and I just didn’t have the mental fortitude or time to write. I’d like to say that I’ll be able to post more often again, but cannot guarantee that. Not to mention there’s discussion of some heavy stuff, and I had to rewrite several scenes and I’m still really not happy with some. At some point I may rewrite this chapter, though all the salient points will still stay the same. 
> 
> Additional warning for this chapter; there is repeated mentions of sexual abuse of minors during this chapter. If you’d like to or need to avoid those, I will provide a summary of the events at the end in the chapter notes.

He wasn’t able to sleep the rest of the cycle. Instead he was looking up methods to free Pets, if there was an application, a fee, anything. No results. He then scoured the laws, looking for anything that mentioned the Pet process and the ability to return to a normal citizenship after becoming a Pet. Nothing. He was certain it wasn’t right – becoming a Pet was a punishment for a number of crimes, certainly, but would something like minor theft deserve a life sentence as a Pet?

None of his searches resulted in anything. There was a little bit of talk on some forums on how to free friends or family members who for one reason or another ended up in the program, but all people could suggest was to pool together enough credits to buy them. As far as he could tell, there actually was _no_ way to free Pets, which couldn’t be true. 

Shiro would have been happy to pay as much as he did to buy Lance, pay more, even, if it resulted in Lance being able to return to his family. Could Shiro just gift him back to his family, instead? That way, they’d get the payment from Lance’s sale, plus their son, their brother back? Lance was a handsome young man, maybe he’d be able to find someone else to help him out with the rut, someone who didn’t own him. It was worth tracking down his family, maybe contacting them and letting him know that he has Lance, maybe he can surprise them and Lance as well with – 

Shiro shook his head. No, he’d ask Lance first. He’d had enough choices made for him lately, Shiro wasn’t going to force another on him. Even if it was his freedom from Shiro. 

By that point he’d checked his chronometer and saw it was only a couple vargas from when he’d normally be getting up anyway. He quietly entered his room, glancing at Lance who’d barely moved, his curled chest barely rising and falling with his breaths. As silently as possible he grabbed his uniform where it hung by his closet as well as a set of workout gear. He changed in the bathroom, and left before either Keith or Lance could wake up and catch him, feeling like a coward. 

He exercised by himself in the gym, ignoring the eyes from the usual crowd who were used to him coming with a Pet or two. He pushed himself harder than he usually did, running faster, lifting heavier, longer, pushing his body so that by the time he finished his muscles were pinging and sore and he could focus on that and not the memory of Lance in his arms, the sweat-slick feel of his skin or the sounds of his gasps when Shiro- 

Yes, it was his own body that he was focused on, and nothing else. Nothing else, as he used the gym’s showers to clean up and change into his uniform, grab a bite to eat on his way (part of him made a note to check his account – his credits had been going faster than usual and he didn’t want to risk running too low, like what happened to Lance’s- no, not thinking about it), and by the time he reached his desk his body was still aching. 

He fell into his work, which was thankfully mostly paperwork that day. He had a meeting scheduled with Commander Iverson later in the quintent, but overall it was going to be a long, slow shift. 

It was nearing his lunch period when he had a new notification appear on his desk. He mechanically went to open it when he froze at the sight of the attached name; it was a message from Allura. 

He took a deep breath and opened it with a shaking hand. It was a simple request for lunch together, with a simple request to bring along Nathan if he was able. 

Nathan. Shiro wanted to slap himself for not even thinking about Nathan and what he might have thought about what Shiro had done to Lance. Would he be disappointed in Shiro? Disgusted? Sure, he joked about Shiro sleeping with Keith or Lance, but with what just happened, what would he say? 

On the other hand, Shiro needed to tell someone. Both Allura and Nathan were intelligent people, perhaps one of them could give him advice; if only on how to help Lance out without forcing him to come to Shiro to deal with future ruts, if not outright free him. 

He fired off a quick message to Nathan, asking if he was available for lunch with them. At Nathan’s confirmation, he sent Allura a response, saying they were both game. 

It was just a couple vargas more until lunch, though his belly roiled at the thought of eating anything. He was honest with himself – he was ashamed of taking advantage of Lance, and feared the reactions of his friends when he told them about what he did. 

They met up at the usual café. It was more affordable compared to others in the area, and therefore usually very busy. Usually Shiro liked the press of noise around him, finding it comfortable to talk in. This time, however, he felt self-conscious, like if he talked too loudly everyone around him would hear about his transgressions. 

Allura was already seated at a small table, just big enough for the three chairs, a cut of something iced clutched in her long-fingered hands. Her pet, Coran, was seated behind her and to the side, out of the way. Nathan was approaching from the other side, having been sent to another location for the day – something about a drill, Shiro remembered vaguely. Nathan smiled and waved at Shiro when they made eye contact, and Shiro forced himself to wave back, waiting for him by the entrance to the café, his hands fidgeting nervously with the cuts of his sleeves, running his fingers along the edge over and over. 

Nathan darted in for a kiss as soon as he caught up, his hand warm on Shiro’s hip. Shiro tensed but accepted the kiss, but even he could feel how wan his face was when he tried to smile at his boyfriend. 

Nathan could be described in a lot of ways, but ‘unobservant’ wasn’t one of them. He picked up immediately that something was wrong. “Everything okay, Takashi?” he asked, his thumb rubbing soothing circles on Shiro’s hip. 

Shiro just grabbed his hand in response, giving it a squeeze and a small, darting kiss before letting it go. “I’ll tell you in a few. I want your advice on something.” 

“Sure,” Nathan said, hand twitching like he wanted to grab Shiro’s hip again. 

They sat down, Allura standing to welcome them and giving both men a warm hug as they approached. 

They had a little bit of small talk until Shiro cleared his throat, catching both of their attention. 

“I need your advice with something,” he said, eyes focused on the table and not either of the people he was with. 

“Yes?” Allura prompted. “Is everything okay?” 

“Yes,” Shiro said. Then, “No. It’s… complicated.” 

He looked at Nathan and took a breath. It was time. “I had sex with Lance last night.” 

Allura seemed shocked, her hand coming up to curl the side of her finger against her bottom lip. Nathan just looked confused. “Okay?” he said. “Was it bad, or something?” 

Shiro stared at him. “What do you mean?” 

Nathan shrugged. “Wasn’t that what you got him for? I assumed you’ve been having sex with Lance since you brought him home. Keith, too.” 

Now Shiro was angry. “Keith was a _child,_ ” he said. “I wasn’t going to have sex with him when he was a kid!’ 

“Alright,” Nathan said, raising his hands. “But recently, right? I knew you were selfish about him, but I just thought that it’s been a thing between you two for a while now.” 

“Are you kidding me?” Shiro said, baffled and more than a little angry. “Why would you think I was having sex with him? With _either_ of them?” 

“Why else would you buy them?” At that Nathan leaned forward, getting closer to Shiro. Shiro fought the urge to lean back and away from him. “Takashi, I don’t understand what you’re so upset about? People buy Pets to be either caretakers or for sex. I knew you didn’t need a caretaker, so obviously you wanted them for sex. You spoil them, but we both know what the endgame is, here.” 

“Okay,” Shiro said, rising to his feet. “Nevermind, I’m done.” 

“What?” Nathan said, straightening. “What did I say? Takashi!” 

Shiro just turned and walked away, steps brisk. After a moment, Allura pushed her chair back and chased after him, Coran at her heels. 

She didn’t say anything when she caught up, her long legs easily keeping pace with Shiro as he stormed off, gaze unseeing ahead of them. The few people on this stretch of the station moved out of their way, sensing that Shiro probably would have mowed them down without stopping if they didn’t. 

After a dobash or two he did slow down, heavy, angry steps slowing down to something a bit more normal, if not calmer. Allura looked up when he took a deep, shaking breath. 

“Am I naïve?” he said, voice low. “I know what a lot of people do with their Pets, but am I naïve in thinking that they aren’t supposed to just be sex toys? That we’re supposed to take care of them, protect them, and not just… use them?” 

“I think we are both a little naïve, in that case,” Allura said, glancing at Coran. “My father gifted Coran to me when I was a child. He was meant to be a companion, and a caretaker, and he’s been my closest friend and confidant ever since. But as I’ve gotten older I’ve come to realize that our relationship is the exception, rather than the rule. Nobody has been so rude to suggest as much, but I know people think that I sleep with him.” 

“And apparently Nathan thought that I’ve been sleeping with Keith for years,” Shiro sighed. “I thought he just had a bad sense of humor when it came to Pets. Is that what everyone thinks when they see us together? That I was just some sort of… deviant, grooming Keith all these years? And that I bought Lance because just one wasn’t cutting it anymore?’ 

“Anyone who truly knows you knew that isn’t the case,” Allura soothed, and Shiro had to restrain the urge to snort at that – he knew she just wanted to reassure him, but that didn’t help. 

“However,” she said delicately, and Shiro tensed at her tone. “You did mention something about Lance…?” 

Shiro grimaced and, looking around, led them to a quiet patio area tucked between two buildings, hanging plants providing a calming, enclosed feel. 

Shiro stared at his clenched hands on the tabletop for a long moment before explaining, Allura sitting patiently beside him. Finally, he took a breath and let it out slowly. “I had sex with Lance,” he admitted again. “Last quintent.” He let out a mirthless chuckle, unclenching his hands to massage his brow. “I guess I’m just another Pet owner, now, using their Pets.” 

Allura’s cool hand covered his, and he looked up to meet her eyes. “Shiro,” she said, her voice soft but firm. “Before you say that, I want to know _why_ you slept with him. Then we’ll see if you’re like those other Pet owners.” 

Shiro pressed his lips together and sighed. “Lance went into a rut cycle, or something,” he said. He kept his voice soft, even though there was only the two of them nearby. Three of them, he corrected himself, looking at Coran kneeling on the floor nearby. “He was having these mood swings. He tried to kill Keith. Or at least wanted to, at the time.” He heard Allura gasp at that, and he made himself keep going, looking at their joined hands. “I took him to get checked up on, and they said that his hormones were going crazy. The only way to really fix it was to wait for it to pass, de-sex him, or have… have sex. Get it out of his system, I guess. I gave him a choice,” he stressed, looking up at Allura’s face, but glancing away before he could really take in her expression. Coward. “I didn’t want him to do anything he didn’t want to. He ended up coming to me.” 

Allura was quiet for a long moment, obviously thinking his words over. “Did he ever tell you no, or to stop?” 

Shiro shook his head. “That doesn’t matter-“ he protested, but Allura cut him off. 

“It does,” she said. “Because if you did _then_ you would be taking advantage of him. Anyone could tell that you didn’t want this to happen, Shiro.” 

“But it doesn’t matter,” he insisted, clenching his fists. “He had no choice, not really. He only chose me because there was literally no other person he could ask.” But that… wasn’t entirely true, was it? Lotor mentioned staff at the labs that could take care of that particular need, Pets as well, though Shiro didn’t like the idea of random Pets being forced to have sex with Lance for his health. Shiro didn’t want to volunteer Keith, but if Lance asked, would Keith have sex with him? He shifted, the idea of Keith having sex with anyone, even Lance striking him as wrong. 

But why? Keith was an adult now. With adult needs, probably, though he did a good job of hiding any sort of sexual desires from Shiro. Though now that he thought about it, he had to wonder at just what was Keith reading on his tablet all those vargas while Shiro was at work, and not to mention he did seem pretty keen on doing his own laundry when he was around twelve or thirteen… 

“But did you want to have sex with him?” Allura pressed, and Shiro had to wrench his mind back on topic, for sure for just a moment she was asking about Keith. No, Lance. Right. 

“I’m really not sure why that matters,” he said. “I’m his owner.” 

“I think it matters,” she said. “Because I think both of you were in a position neither of you wanted to be in, and neither of you were fully consenting.” 

“Wait,” Shiro said, yanking his hand out from under Allura’s. “Are you saying… are you implying that Lance raped me? How can you even think that? I’m his Owner and-“ 

“I’m saying,” she interrupted. “That neither of you wanted it. From what you’ve told me Lance’s options were either to have sex with someone he trusted, or risk hurting someone. You could have said no, but in doing so you would have been responsible if Lance lost control. If that had happened, he would have been reclaimed by the Institute, mind-wiped, and sold off again to another person. Both of you were trying to protect each other.” 

Shiro was quiet for a long moment. “That still doesn’t make it right,” he finally said. 

“No,” she agreed softly. “It doesn’t.” 

“I don’t know what to do next time this comes up,” he said. “I don’t think I can do this again.” 

Allura sighed and looked at Coran, who was kneeling at her side with his head down like a properly-trained Pet. “Sometimes I wonder if it’s really worth it,” she said. 

Shiro looked between her and Coran. “Pets?” he asked. 

Allura nodded. “They started the program as a necessity,” she said. “But I’m not sure how necessary it all is. Not to mention how… permanent of a solution it is. Now that Keith is grown, for example, why can’t he be independent? As for using the program as a punishment, we do have ships that transport people to and from Earth occasionally. Anyone that does something that deserves a life sentence could absolutely be extradited to Earth to serve their sentence there.” 

“Careful,” Shiro chuckled wanly. “There’s a lot of people that believe that any interaction with Earth beyond the absolute necessary is treason.” 

Allura sniffed. “Isolationism helps no one,” she said. “And that’s besides the point. I’m just… I think that the Pet Program isn’t the great boon people think it is. There should at least be a way to free Pets after they’ve served their sentence, at the very least.” 

Shiro looked between her and the Pet at her feet. “You’re talking about Coran right now, aren’t you?” he said, more than asked. 

Allura tensed for a moment, and then relaxed, her hand coming down reflexively to card through Coran’s hair, massaging a floppy ear as she did. “I am,” she admitted. “He’s been in the family for years, and I don’t even know why he was in the Program in the first place. Neither does he.” 

Shiro blinked, surprised. There was only a handful of reasons for a Pet to have their memories erased, and he was frankly surprised that Alfor would have bought one for his daughter, considering the stigma. “Coran was a criminal?” he asked. Then, correcting himself, he said to Coran directly, “I’m sorry, I just didn’t know that you were a felon.” 

Coran didn’t fully look up, too well-trained to break the proper posture out in public, but he did meet Shiro’s eyes with a smile. “Yes, well,” he said. “I don’t remember, but I like to think I was quite the rascal in my youth.” He winked, making Shiro chuckle. 

“I wouldn’t put it beyond you,” he said.

“Coran,” Allura said, turning to face her Pet more fully, bringing him properly into the conversation. “What would you say if I offered you a chance for freedom? To end your service as a Pet, and become a regular person again?’ 

Coran was quiet for a long moment, looking down at here his hands were placed on his bent knees. “I have been in your family for phoebs,” Coran said eventually, voice soft. “And I will never regret being there for you as you grew up, Princess. Being in your life brings me joy every quintent.” He trailed off, then sighed. When he met Allura’s eyes again, he looked almost ashamed, a wry twist to his mouth. “But I would admit that the possibility to be able to stretch my legs a bit, go for a drink, have a friendly chat with someone as an equal… it has an appeal.” 

Allura nodded, her lips pressed thin. Shiro just looked down at the table, gaze distant. Was that was Keith thought? It was no secret Lance was unhappy with his life as a Pet, but did Keith ever crave more than what he had? He was young, and smart, at his age Shiro was already joined up in the Garrison and flying his first missions. 

What was he talking about, of course Keith wanted more. Just the other quintent he found Keith and Lance away from his quarters, and he knew that if Keith really didn’t want to leave he wouldn’t have. 

Where would Keith be if Shiro hadn’t bought him, if he hadn’t been made into a Pet in the first place? 

“There’s got to be a way to change the laws,” he said, almost surprised that he’d spoken aloud. 

Allura looked at him, apparently startled at his remark, but then she nodded, eyes hard. “Laws have been amended before,” she agreed. “We should be able to do it again. At least make Pets able to be freed at some point, returned to their normal bodies. It won’t be easy, though.” 

Shiro nodded. “We need to be able to get as many people to back it as possible. Pets became popular because people made them fashionable to have,” he said. “If we get enough support from people who are directly harmed from the program, friends and family of people who became Pets, we might be able to sway popular opinion to our side.” 

“I’ll get looking into the legal wording around the program,” Allura said, leaning forward in excitement. “The station has some very specific wording around human rights laws, if the program doesn’t fall in those lines we may have actual legal legs to stand on.” 

Shiro leaned forward to say something more, but his phone vibrating drew his attention to the time displayed on top. “I’ve got to go,” he said, rising to his feet, Allura and Coran following. “We’ll discuss this further?” 

Allura nodded, stepping forward to give him a hug. “We’ll beat this,” she said softly into his ear. “For Lance, Coran, Keith, and every other victim of the program. They don’t deserve any of what they’re made to do.” 

Shiro nodded, throat tight. He might not have been able to take back the night before, but he could at least fix things for the future. Hopefully, Lance wouldn’t be forced to have sex with anyone ever again, if they could get things changed fast enough. 

He still wasn’t completely absolved. He still got hard, even though he took care of it himself. Logically, he knew he couldn’t help certain responses. Lance was attractive, in his lap, and Shiro’s body was conditioned to certain reactions when he was getting a partner off. But it still made him feel dirty, that he was actually getting enjoyment out of it. 

But hopefully, once Lance was returned to his family, he wouldn’t have to worry about it again.

Vargas later he left Iverson’s office, a smile of excitement across his face, though the news did interfere with their plans. 

A pilot for mission just a couple quintents away had fallen ill, and Shiro was offered the chance to pilot the shuttle. It was just a simple exploratory mission, but it would last at least a couple movements. 

But afterwards he’d be able to focus on freeing Keith and Lance. 

He couldn’t wait.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shiro leaves for work early without waking either Lance or Keith. He gets an offer for lunch with Nathan and Allura (with Coran), and during the lunch he admits to having sex with Lance. Nathan assumed that Shiro had been having sex with both Keith and Lance, and Shiro loses his temper and walks away. Allura and Coran catch up to him, and manage to talk him through his problems with having sex with Lance. Shiro believes he took advantage of him and while Allura tells him that he didn't truly consent either, he still feels ashamed of what he did and his physical reactions. Allura mentions she doesn't agree with the Pet program as it currently exists, and suggests finding a way to allow Pets to be freed. Shiro is all for it and wants to help. At the end, Shiro gets news that he's been picked to be the pilot for an exploratory mission for a couple weeks.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry for the wait! I had this chapter mostly written for months, but fandom became sort of a toxic place for me for a while, so I sort of had to back away for my own mental health. But I'm back! You might have noticed that I changed the chapter count to '?', and that's because this chapter way supposed to be... Three times as long, with to additional scenes? But I scrapped that so I could post the damn thing. 
> 
> Also, just so it's clear, certain characters think and say things that I don't agree with and don't condone, and those thoughts and feelings are coming from a place of frustration, helplessness, and anger.

Lance shifted on the recliner, glancing over at Keith for probably the tenth time in the past varga. Like every time before Keith didn't seem to notice or care, nose buried in his tablet where he stretched out on the couch.

He hadn't said anything to Lance since he'd woken up naked in Shiro's bed. It had taken him some time for him to get up and leave the bedroom, nervousness like a lead ball in his belly. It was a mixture between his growling belly and the call of nature that eventually pried him out of the bed and got him redressed in his clothes from the night before. It wasn't until he saw Keith laying on the couch instead of his usual chair, nibbling at the last bite of a ration bar that he realized how late it was. 

“Did Shiro already leave?” he asked, feeling awkward. Shiro, Keith, and he had a pretty established routine; get up, go to the gym, get some breakfast, and Lance and Keith would try and keep themselves occupied while Shiro went to work. Keith's hair didn't even look damp, so Lance didn't think they'd left while he slept. 

Keith didn't say anything, just tapped something on his tablet. His ears didn't even twitch in acknowledgement that Lance said anything, their tilt at the same 'mildly perturbed’ angle they'd been in since Lance had walked in. 

“O-kay,” Lance drew out, fiddling with the hem of his night shirt. Okay. Keith was ignoring him. He could deal with that. “I'm just gonna… shower now.” He winced and then berated himself for that action. It wasn't like he was rubbing in the fact that he had sex with Shiro in Keith's face or anything, right? He took a shower every day. It was a normal part of his routine, and in any case Keith wasn't even reacting. He was still staring at that tablet of his like Lance wasn't even in the room, which… okay, he was just going to retreat into the bathroom now. 

Shiro must have cleaned him up at some point after he'd passed out because there was no evidence of their… activities left. Lance had expected something, some bruise or mark left on his skin to prove that the events that happened last quintent had actually happened. That he didn't just dream up crawling into Shiro's bed like some sort of desperate animal manipulating Shiro into giving him a handjob in exchange for not flipping out on him or his other Pet. 

The worst thing was that it worked. 

Lance didn't even realize how tense and moody he was until it was suddenly gone. It was like a tightening around his shoulders had loosened, more than he could put on simply getting off with a partner for the first time in ages. 

He sighed as he got in the shower, wishing not for the first time he could take his time and enjoy the hot water before it automatically shut off. 

He fucked up. Shiro didn't want to see him, Keith wouldn't acknowledge his existence, and he had no idea if it'd happen again. He remembered what Lotor had said, that it was brought on by stress or changes in diet or environment, and snorted. Yeah, he had plenty of that in his life. But maybe if he just… tried to avoid all that he'd be alright? 

With that tentative plan in mind he finished his shower and dressed in a comfortable outfit with sleeves just a little longer than even his long arms, pant legs that draped over his feet. It was a little warm for where Shiro kept the climate controls, but he wanted the extra coverage. 

Keith hadn't moved. Lance felt his tail bristle with nerves as he punched in the code to get himself a plain ration bar. He felt like a ghost, not even worth a glance up. 

Lance ate his breakfast on the recliner, staring at the floor in silence, waiting for… something. Keith to say something, or throw something, or hit him, something other than just the continued pointed lack of anything other than the occasional tap of his finger on his tablet. 

The quiet getting to him, Lance grabbed the controller for the vid screen, saying softly, “I'm just going to watch something. Let me know if you want me to change it.” No response from Keith, but honestly Lance expected that. 

The sudden blare of noise from the vid (and fuck, did Lance leave the sound up so high the quintent before? What was wrong with him) made him startle and fumble with the remote, punching the volume control until it lowered to a more normal volume, heart pounding and ears flat against his skull. 

At least it got the slightest hint of an ear twitch from Keith.

And then nothing for vargas. Lance didn't know what to _do_ , Keith was obviously pissed at him, and Lance couldn't really blame him. Keith had been hung up on Shiro for how long? Phoebs, probably, and Lance jumped him as soon as he had an excuse. 

He shook his head at himself, frustrated at the turn of his thoughts. Shiro was his only option, he couldn't take Lotor's offer and have either him or, worse, force some poor Pet to take care of him, and the thought of getting neutered made his hackles rise. At least Shiro offered in the first place. 

And he'd tell Keith that, if only the other Pet would freaking look at him! 

“Hey,” he said, voice soft enough that it was almost inaudible under the vid playing. “Talk to me, please?” 

Keith was quiet for a several ticks and then, making Lance jump in surprise, actually responded. “What do you want me to say, Lance?” His voice was steady, emotionless, and he still didn't look up from that damned tablet of his. 

“I don't know,” Lance sighed. He couldn't look at Keith anymore, now that he was actually talking to him. Instead he focused his gaze at the floor. “Yell at me? Punch me? I mean… you… _know_ about what happened, right?” 

“I couldn't actually ignore it,” Keith said, pointing to his ears without actually looking up. 

Oh. Yeah. While Lance didn't think he was that loud, he still had no idea how sensitive Keith's ears actually were.

Lance licked his lips, unsure about what to say next. At least Keith was talking to him, though he couldn't really call it a 'conversation,’ Keith stonewalling every attempt. 

He took a bracing breath, trying to brace himself for any reaction Keith might have to his next words. He would just have to come out and say it, and hopefully Keith would find a way to forgive him, or patch up the beginnings of a possible friendship they had. Or just a truce.

“I didn't want to have sex with him,” Lance said, voice low but as steady as he could make it. “It was either that, or risk hurting someone.” He kept going, rambling words spilling out to be judged by the other Pet. “I've got this thing, and if I don't, like, mate or whatever, I could get aggressive and attack people. That's what happened last quintent in the gym.”

That got a reaction. Keith turned to glare at Lance, ears back and brows cocked incredulously. “Is that what you're going with? You had to either fuck him or go crazy?” 

Lance winced at the rare profanity from Keith, but nodded. “It's true. I didn't want to hurt you, or Shiro, and he offered, so…” 

He trailed off at Keith's expression. He was fully turned towards Lance, clutching the tablet in one hand so hard that his knuckles had turned white, nostrils flaring with harsh breaths. 

“You're lying,” he hissed. “Shiro doesn't touch his Pets like that. Not unless you made him.” 

Lance flushed, angry and embarrassed from having his thoughts from earlier thrown in his face. It was bad enough that he felt like a borderline rapist, he didn't need Keith saying it, too. “He did offer,” he stressed. “If I attacked someone, I'd be sent back to the Institute, and he didn't want that to happen.” 

“I don't know why not,” Keith said. “We were so much happier before you came along.” 

Lance launched himself to his feet, Keith just a hair behind him, tablet tossed aside to the couch, and they were suddenly standing chest-to-chest. 

“You think I want to be here?” Lance growled. He could feel his ears were thrust forward and tail lashing, and that just sent his irritation skyrocketing. He _hated_ those inhuman, alien ticks. “You think if I had a choice I'd be anywhere this side of the station? Your Owner was the one who brought me here.” 

“And what a mistake that was!” Keith said. “We were so much better off without you. If you disappeared we'd just go back to normal.”

“What?” Lanced barked out a harsh laugh. “Stuck inside for vargas with nobody to talk to, afraid of going outside?” Keith opened his mouth to say _something _but Lance barreled on.”Did you think I didn't notice? That you were afraid to go outside, that you headed for a place without any people around? You're not just a Pet, you're a fucking housepet afraid of anyone who isn't your master.”__

__“I didn't want to get caught, idiot,” Keith sneered, but the flush high on his cheeks could have been for anything from anger to embarrassment, and Lance just knew his words hit their mark._ _

__“Oh, yeah?” Lance asked, matching his tone. “Then why don't you go out there now, alone? Cover your ears up, nobody would tell that _you're_ a Pet. How long do you think you'd last before you have a nervous breakdown?” _ _

__“Fuck you,” Keith hissed. In the end he was the first one to put hands on the other, shoving Lance back with a firm push. Lance only stumbled back a step or two, and then he was back in Keith's face._ _

__“But no, no,” Lance continued like nothing had happened, angry and wanting to press buttons. Let Keith feel some of the anger and frustration that had been following Lance around since he stepped foot inside the Institute. “You've got Shiro to keep you safe. Shiro to keep you kept and comfortable and fed. He'll fuck _me_ , but maybe one day he'll let Nathan get what he wants and let him borrow you.” _ _

__“Shut up!” Keith said, pushing Lance again. “He's not like that! He's kind, he won't loan me out. He's not like other Owners out there, he-”_ _

__“Listen to yourself!” Lance interrupted. “You think everyone out there fucks their Pets? Shiro isn't that special, he's just the one nice person in your life while you're stuck in here. You're not in love, you have fucking Stockholm Syndrome.”_ _

__Keith launched himself at Lance with a growl, all of the carefully practiced moves Shiro had taught him in their sparring sessions seemingly tossed out the window in lieu of throwing Lance to the floor in a clumsy grapple that Lance could see coming a mile away and braced for, arms up as Keith slammed into him._ _

__They both hit the floor with a thud that rattled the walls. Keith immediately started pushing at Lance's chest, trying to push himself away, but Lance wrapped his long arms around him. With Keith's arms pinned against his sides he couldn't get a good hit in, though Lance knew if Keith wanted to he could break the hold easily. Instead Keith started growling like a rabid dog and squirmed, bringing his leg up to try and knee Lance any place he could reach._ _

__Before he could get Lance anywhere tender, Lance adjusted his hold and _heaved_ , flipping Keith on to his back. Lance had his face buried into Keith's shoulder to avoid any headbutts so he couldn't see Keith's expression as he froze under him. He still didn't move when Keith suddenly relaxed under him with a shudder, his body going loose and boneless. _ _

__They lay like that for a long moment, breathing hard, Lance pondering that things at the gym might have worked out in his favor if he'd just managed to piss Keith off beforehand. Finally, Lance cleared his throat and asked, “Will you try to hit me again if I let you up?”_ _

__Keith didn't respond, instead lay frozen beneath Lance._ _

__“Keith?” Lance asked._ _

__“Why you?” Keith replied, voice watery. Lance, no longer worried about Keith biting him or whatever at the sound of his voice, raised his head to see Keith staring up at the ceiling, eyes wet. “I've been a good Pet for years,” Keith continued. “And he's never touched me. He's had you for just a few movements and you've had more than me.”_ _

__Lance had to let go of him then, unwrapping his arms but remained sitting on the floor next to the other Pet._ _

__“Maybe…” Lance trailed off. Of all the things he imagined he'd have to deal with as a Pet, helping a fellow Pet deal with an unrequited crush on his Owner was not one of them. Or that said other Pet would be jealous of Lance getting a handjob from said Owner. “Maybe you should tell Shiro how you feel,” he said, hearing the awkwardness in his own voice._ _

__Keith must have heard it as well, because he snorted, eyes still pointed up at the ceiling and away from Lance, though he raised one arm to lay it across his face. “That's a great idea,” Keith said wryly. “It won't be awkward at all, since Shiro doesn't feel the same way.”_ _

__“You don't know that,” Lance said, but before he could say more Keith raised his arm just enough to shoot him a withering glare._ _

__“I think I know him better than you do,” Keith said, voice flat._ _

__“You didn't know he was planning on getting another Pet,” Lance pointed out._ _

__“He never told me,” Keith pointed out. “If he would have just talked to me, I could have told him we didn't need another Pet.”_ _

__“Well,” Lance said, crossing his legs and picking at a loose thread in his sock. “All things considered, I'm glad he did.”_ _

__Keith let out a growling noise and sat up, ears back in anger. Lance raised his hands and leaned back, immediately adding, “Not because of last night! I mean, things could have been a lot worse if Shiro never saw me, right? Like…” he trailed off, mind frantically looking for an example. Keith still looked on the verge of swinging on Lance._ _

__“You’re here,” Lance settled on. At Keith's look of baffled surprise, he continued. “I thought I'd be alone in this with some asshole who would want to parade me around, show off their new toy. But here I have another Pet to lean on, you know? I'm not alone.”_ _

__"We're not friends," Keith said after a moment of silence. "I don't know if we'd even talk to each other if we just met each other randomly."_ _

__"Yeah," Lance said with a shrug. "But at least we're in the same boat."_ _

__Keith laid back, staring up at the ceiling, a doubtful look on his face. Lance continued picking at the loose thread for a moment before asking, voice quiet, "You uh, want to play something?" He gestured at the vid screen._ _

__Keith visibly thought it over before shrugging, sitting up. "Sure," he said. "You're player two, though."_ _

__"Yeah, sure," Lance sighed, but let it drop. He'd give Keith this one._ _

**Author's Note:**

> Find me on Tumblr at Muerki, or Twitter @Muerki!


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